Former England striker Sir Geoff Hurst has leapt to the defence of Raheem Sterling, insisting that his performance against Sweden was "terrific".

England won 2-0 in Samara to book their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990, but Sterling's individual display was heavily criticised in some quarters after he missed a number of chances.

However, Hurst believes that the 23-year-old's movement was key to opening the Swedish defence up and helping England towards the victory.

"Raheem Sterling was terrific. He had a little bit of criticism but he performed well. He did more than the other games, he was key in turning the defence, looked enormously fit right throughout the game," Hurst told PA.

"The runs he was making, it is a key factor as a front player. When I was under Ron Greenwood at West Ham, he would say to turn defenders around. Defenders are happy if you're in front, you want to stretch them - do it until their tongues hang out.

"He had chances, he could have done a bit more, but he was terrific."

England will face Croatia in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening.