FIFA World cup 2018
Colombia vs England
Otkrytie Arena, Russia
Tuesdasy, 03-07-2018 @09:00pm
England will be out to end their quarter finals drought when they take on Colombia in the round of 16 match at the 2018 FIFA World cup.
The Three Lions have not reached the last eight of the FIFA World cup since defeating Ecuador 1-0 to storm the quarters in 2006.
They lost heavily to Germany at this stage in 2010 before humiliatingly going out at the group stage in Brazil 2010.
Midfileder Dele Alli is available for selection again after missing the group matches against Panama and Belgium.
Manager Gareth Southgate is set to recall the players he rested against the Belgians, including captain Harry Kane, who has five goals so far.
Colombia will monitor the fitness of star midfielder James Rodriguez, who was forced off against Senegal. A scan of his right calf has revealed swelling but no muscle tear, though it is unclear if he will be fit to start.
Fellow midfielder Wilmar Barrios could be recalled to the starting line-up, with Colombia potentially fielding a more conservative line-up than in their must-win game against Senegal.
What they are saying ahead of the game:
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman:
“We know that any team that reaches the last 16 is good, we are talking about the best 16 teams in the world.
“Obviously England can have a good or a bad day.
“England is a young team, has a lot of harmony and you can tell they have a lot of faith in themselves.
England manager Gareth Southgate:
“I feel like we’ve started to connect the team with the public again.
“I feel like we’ve created excitement, like we’ve played in a style that has really shown an expression of what young English players are capable of, and I want us to continue doing that.
Match Stats:
England are unbeaten against Colombia, having faced them five times previously (W3 D2). Their last encounter dates back to May 2005 in New Jersey. England won 3-2 thanks to a Michael Owen hat-trick.
England beat Colombia in their only previous World Cup encounter thanks to goals from Darren Anderton and David Beckham (2-0), it was in the group stages of the 1998 tournament. Current England boss Gareth Southgate was an unused sub that night.
Colombia have reached the knockout stages of the World Cup for the third time but it’s the first time they have accomplished it in consecutive tournaments (1990, 2014, 2018). The only previous occasion they’ve gone past the round of 16 was in 2014.
Three of Colombia’s five goals at this year’s World Cup have come from set-pieces (two from corners, one from direct free kick) whilst England scored more goals from dead-ball situations than any other team in the group stages (6).
Colombia have scored in each of their last eight World Cup games, the longest current run of any team as of the end of the 2018 group stages. The last time Colombia failed to find the net in the tournament was in June 1998 against England (0-2).
None of Colombia’s 21 games at the World Cup has ended goalless. In fact, only the USA (33) and Austria (29) have played more games in the competition without ever registering a 0-0.
England have won only two of their last eight knockout games at the World Cup (v Denmark in 2002, v Ecuador in 2006). They had progressed in six of their eight previous games in the knockout phase.
The other game on Tuesday:
-Sweden vs Switzerland, Krestovsky Stadium @05:00pm
