The fourth and final day of the round of 16 fixtures will see England taking on Colombia for the second time in their World Cup history as they look to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Former champions England started off their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought victory over Tunisia as their captain Harry Kane scored twice to hand the Three Lions a 2-1 victory over Tunisia. The second match saw England dismantling World Cup debutants Panama 6-1, as they scored 5 first-half goals, with Harry Kane scoring a hattrick, John Stones scoring a brace and Jesse Lingard scoring a wonder goal.
The third and final match saw England making as many as 7 changes to their starting lineup as they faced off against a weak Belgian side as they lost 1-0 to finish 2nd of Group G. England will be hoping to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 2006.
Colombia started off their World Cup campaign in a losing note as they lost 2-1 to Japan after Carlos Sanchez was sent off for a deliberate handball offence in the 3rd minute. The second match saw Colombia thrashing Poland 3-0 after Yerry Mina, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado scored for the Los Cafeteros.
The third and final match saw Colombia facing off against Senegal, knowing anything less than a victory would’ve resulted in Colombia getting knocked out, registered a 1-0 victory for Colombians as Yerry Mina scored his second goal of the tournament in as many matches helping them finish top of Group H. Colombia will be looking to reach the second quarterfinals of the World Cup in a row for the first time in their history.
Team News
Dele Alli is available and is contention for a starting place as Gareth Southgate recalls the rested players.
Colombia will monitor the fitness of James Rodriguez after he was forced off against Senegal
Possible line-up for both the teams
Colombia XI: David Ospina, Santiago Arias, Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina, Johan Mojica, Carlos Sanchez, Mateus Uribe; Juan Cuadrado, Juan Quintero, Luis Muriel, Falcao
Head to Head Stats
England are unbeaten against Colombia in five previous meeting with the last one ending 3-2 in England’s favour
England has won the only ever meeting between the 2 nations in 2002 when Anderton and Beckham scored for the three lions to register a 2-0 victory
Interesting Stats
Colombia is unbeaten in eight games versus European opposition since head coach Jose Pekerman took charge in 2012 while they have scored in their previous 8 World Cup matches with England being the last team to get a clean sheet against Colombia.
England have won only 2 of their previous 8 World Cup knockout matches with the last victory coming in a 1-0 win over Ecuador in 2006
If Harry Kane finds the net against Colombia, he will become the first player to score in six consecutive appearances for the English since Tommy Lawton did it back in 1939.
Match Date: 3 July 2018
Match Timing: 23:30 IST
Match Venue: Otkrytie Arena, Moscow, Russia
My Prediction
England 2- 2 Colombia
England winning on penalties.
By Varun Nair, sportskeeda.com
