England face Colombia in Moscow on Tuesday, aiming to win a knockout game at a major tournament for the first time since 2006.
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While England were able to rest eight players for their last group game against Belgium, Colombia had to fight to the last minute to get past Senegal after losing their opening match to Japan. Thus, he is likely to miss the match against England which will turn out to be a huge blow for Colombia.
Gareth Southgate could need every trick that’s hidden up his sleeve to help England beat Colombia in the second round of the World Cup – and he could do worse than look to former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal for inspiration. England have projected this World Cup as a fresh start for a new generation but the team’s record of failure in penalty shoot-outs may not be so easy to forget.
“For this team, this is a brilliant opportunity to go beyond where more experienced teams have before them”, said Southgate. “They were unlucky”, reflected Robson when speaking to Lineker for a TV documentary some years later, and even in the round before they had been thoroughly outplayed by Belgium only to snatch a 119th-minute victor through David Platt.
Such arrogance on the part of the English may play right into the hands of Colombia, who with the likes of Juan Cuadrado, Juan Fernando Quintero and Radamel Falcao posses the firepower to expose their weaknesses. “It is the team which makes the difference”.
Rodriguez is one of Colombia’s most important players and won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer.
The 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation is heating up nicely.
Tottenham Hotspur man Davison Sanchez comes up against club teammates Kane and Alli as he lines up alongside centre-back partner Yerry Mina, who has already scored twice in two matches for the Colombians. One player who could lose his spot in the starting lineup though, is Dele Alli. The reason was not hard to understand: “Belgium played far more creative, imaginative and positive soccer”.
The Three Lions can continue believing that it’s coming home. Southgate has been looking to other sports like basketball and American football for insights into how players can deceive the opposition during a free kick or corner. “It’s such an honour to play for Colombia”. We knew we had this game, even if it had to go to penalties, we knew we were capable of winning’.
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“I will be talking a lot with him between now and the game – and we will have a plan”.
