- England took lead from a Penalty through Harry Kane, the Budweiser Man of the Match.
- Colombia equalised at dying minute of regular time.
- Dier converts decisive spot-kick for England, whereas Pickford
England defeated Colombia to reach the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. Penalties were needed at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium to decide the match and keep alive the Three Lions’ dream of a second World Cup title after 1966.
After a frenetic opening, England began to dictate the tempo of the game. Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard kept moving between the lines and were rewarded with several set piece opportunities. Without injured superstar James Rodriguez, Colombia relied on quick counterattacks but rarely posed a threat to England goalkeeper Pickford.
The second half got off to the perfect start for England. After being brought down in the penalty area, captain Kane converted the resulting spot-kick to give his team the lead. Undeterred, Colombia threw everything forward in the final quarter of an hour and snatched an equaliser through Yerry Mina in the 93rd minute.
Although both teams pushed for a winner in extra time, penalties were ultimately needed to determine the outcome. After Jordan Henderson’s shot was saved by David Ospina and Mateus Uribe failed to score for Colombia, as his shot smashed to the crossbar. Amid a fevered atmosphere inside Spartak Stadium, Eric Dier scored the winning kick after Jordan Pickford’s brilliant save from Carlos Bacca.
“The World Cup has unraveled like this. Like every team here, we had the ambition to win it. We have made every possible effort to progress. It was highly intense, very competitive. Both sides have testified to the importance of this match”-Jose Pekerman, the Argentinian coach of Colombia said. He also added –“We’ve been a brave squad, we’ve fought hard. We’ve never thrown in the towel when facing an opponent. We’ve had the right attitude and mindset.”
Harry Kane, the England captain and Man of the Match said, ““I’m so proud. We were so unlucky to concede in the last minute. It shows our togetherness and character. These are the moments when you really see it. It’s a big night for everyone. Obviously we knew that England’s history with penalties hasn’t been great. It was nice to get that one off our back.” He also added, “It gives us huge belief. We’ve ticked one of the boxes so far. There’s still a long way to go. This will give us more belief than ever and give the fans back at home more belief than ever and we’re just looking forward to the next one.”
No previous world champions stand between England and the final. The winners of their quarter-final will face either Croatia or hosts Russia for a place in the Final at Moscow on 15 July.
