IF the defiant defensive display against the French wasn't enough, fans of English football have a new reason to believe their national side can go far in Euro 2012.
Because it's not only pundits who think England can beat Sweden on Friday – so does one of London Zoo's least cuddly tenants, Mickey the Malignant Tumour.
He is the latest in a long line of non-human members of the animal kingdom who have been called upon by zookeepers and the media to predict the results of major football matches since Paul the Octopus at the 2010 World Cup.
Before the England v France game, Mickey's minders at the zoo pinned microscopic England and France flags on to two healthy cells inside the body of a 72-year-old man suffering from lung cancer.
Zookeeper Paul Hampstead explained: “We wanted to see which of the two cells Mickey went for, the one with the England flag or the one with the French flag, but he devoured both of them straight away, meaning he had correctly predicted a draw.
“We were obviously really excited by this, so we decided to try this experiment again this morning, but this time with England and Sweden flags.
“We turned it into a bit of an event, and put the video feed from the pensioner's insides up onto a big screen outside the zoo cafe.
“Without any hesitation, Mickey went for the England cell, at which point the man basically died.
“A huge cheer went up and everybody started waving their England flags. I confess it brought a tear to my eye.”
Bookmakers William Hill, Ladbrokes and BetFred have since reported a surge of bets on England to win Friday's clash with Sweden.
But not everybody is convinced.
German media are today reporting that Ellie the E-Coli, a bacterium stored in a laboratory at the Free University of Berlin, has predicted a Sweden win.
Meanwhile, French daily newspaper Le Monde reports that Henri the H1N1 virus has forecast France and Ukraine will qualify from Group D.
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