World Cup 2018: England defeat Colombia on penalties

Colombia 1-1 England (England win 3-4 on penalties) — Round of 16
(Kane 57', Mina 90+3')

England have won their first World Cup knockout match since 2006 after defeating Colombia in their round of 16 clash. But perhaps more importantly, they have emphatically thrown the monkey off their back when it comes to the nation's dreaded penalty shootout record.

After 120 minutes couldn't separate the two sides, with the score locked at 1-1, the match moved onto spot-kicks, with England's players facing a wall of noise from Colombia's boisterous fans.

Jordan Pickford proved the hero, throwing up a huge palm to bat away Carlos Bacca's penalty, before Eric Dier stepped up and converted the decisive kick to send England through to the quarterfinals. It could have been completely different, with captain Jordan Henderson missing England's third spot-kick, but Mateus Uribe saw his effort cannon back off the crossbar, before Pickford and Dier did the rest.

England do it the hard way

England controlled most of the 90 minutes against Colombia, starting the game at a frantic pace. Their passing was slick, their movement dynamic, and Colombia were forced to play dirty in order to keep a hold on the match. However, the Three Lions still struggled to fashion meaningful chances from open play.

Just before the hour mark, England got the breakthrough they largely deserved. Carlos Sanchez, who was sent off in Colombia's opener against Japan, inexplicably grappled Harry Kane to the floor as a corner was whipped in, and US referee Mark Geiger was left with no choice but to award a penalty. Kane stepped up, dusted himself off, and finished with aplomb.

But England never give their fans an easy ride and duly conceded a late equalizer after withdrawing into a defensive shell. Pickford pulled off a magical save from Uribe in injury-time, but from the ensuing corner the towering Yerry Mina smashed his header past helpless defender Kieran Trippier.

Nail-biting finish

Extra-time was a topsy-turvy affair, with Colombia dominating the first period and England coming out stronger in the second half. But both teams looked ragged and worn out, with a winning goal never on the horizon. Penalties it was.

England coach Gareth Southgate knows the pain of losing on penalties with the national team. He missed the decisive spot-kick in the Euro 1996  semifinal against Germany. In fact, England are well known for their inability to overcome the dreaded shootout, failing in World Cups in 1990, 1998, and 2006 — the worst record of any country. 

But thanks largely to Jordan Pickford, as well as Eric Dier, the curse has been lifted and England now stroll through to a quarterfinal showdown with unfancied Sweden.

++++As it happened:++++

FULL-TIME

What a finish! Heartbreak for Colombia, relief for England as the Three Lions prevail on penalties 4-3 after the two sides drew 1-1 in normal time.

Penalties: Colombia 3-4 England

-- Dier to take the decisive penalty, and he's done it! England are through!

Penalties: Colombia 3-3 England

-- Bacca steps up... Pickford with a huge hand to block. England's big chance...

Penalties: Colombia 3-3 England

-- Trippier, he slots it! All even, last penalties to come...

Penalties: Colombia 3-2 England

-- Uribe hits the corssbar! England back in it.

Penalties: Colombia 3-2 England

-- Henderson shapes up... and Ospina saves at full stretch. 

Penalties: Colombia 3-2 England

-- Muriel goes straight down the middle... and scores!

Penalties: Colombia 2-2 England

-- Rashford with a great pen, he's only been on the pitch minutes

Penalties: Colombia 2-1 England

-- Cuadrado converts! Pickford went the right way, but what a penalty.

Penalties: Colombia 1-1 England

-- Kane as well!

Penalties: Colombia 1-0 England

-- Falcao slots home!

Here we go, Colombia to shoot at goal first. Falcao first to the spot.

END EXTRA-TIME (penalties to follow)

Extra-time is over, and it was a true tale of two halves. Colombia were better in the first period, England in the second, but both sides looked too tired to conjure up a winner.

We head to penalties!

116' Colombia's last substitute. Santiago Arias off, Cristian Zapata on.

115' CHANCE! Eric Dier has a glorious chance to make himself a hero, but he heads over the bar from Trippier's corner. He was as free as a bird.

114' Corner for England.

113' And England make their last substitution (you get a fourth in ET) and it's Marcus Rashford on for Kyle Walker, who goes off with what looks like a small injury.

112' CHANCE! Danny Rose latches onto a through ball from Henderson, shoots from an acute angle and it flies agonisingly wide of the post. Much better from England, both teams look knackered. 

106' CHANCE! Vardy shoots at goal, the shot is saved... but it's called for offside anyway. A good start from England regardless, need to show more in this period, even if it's to build confidence before penalties.

HALF-TIME (extra-time)

Colombia dominated those 15 minutes, England looking very out of sorts with their backs against the wall. It's not looking good for the Three Lions. They need a better showing in the second period of ET.

104' CHANCE! Falcao meets a cross swung in from the left, but he directs his header wide. Colombia are on the front foot and you get the sense they have a bigger chance of snaring a winner.

102' Last substitute for England. Danny Rose coming on for Ashley Young.

101' Cuadraqdo hits in a cross, Bavva jumps for it but an England defender gets there first. Corner. Which D. Sanchez heads wide.

97' Colombia on top so far. England look tired, they look like they're out of ideas, and the whole question mark over the side's mentality now comes into play.

91' Here we go, two halves of 15 minutes for one side to win it!

END NORMAL-TIME (extra-time to follow)

Well, England just couldn't hold on. They were so, so close, but a late shot from Uribe gave Colombia a late chance from a corner. England's weakness in defending set pieces was exposed, the towering Yerry Mina smashing home the equalizer.

England had looked in control for most of the match, with Colombia resorting to niggling fouls in order to keep pace. One of those fouls resulted in a penalty for the Three Lions, which Harry Kane slotted home. 

It stands 1-1 though, and England have to pick themselves up here.

90 +3' GOAL! Corner from Colombia, Mina climbs high and heads into the ground towards goal. Trippier is just too short and can't head the ball away. Incredible.

 

90 +3' CHANCE! Jordan Pickford take a bow, what a save. Uribe pulls a long-range shot from nowhere but Pickford tips around the post full stretch.

90 +1' We have five minutes injury time! Colombia don't look like scoring to be fair, but this World Cup has been a crazy affair. And you just never know with England.

88' More substitutes from both sides...

England: Jamie Vardy on for Sterling

Colombia: Luis Muriel on for Quintero

87' Falcao twists to make himself space, hits from distance, but it lacks power and is straight at Pickford. Routine save. 

85' Colombia pretty much exclusively with the ball now, England sitting back and happy to hit on the counter. Colombia have thrown a few balls into the box, but no real chances so far.

81' CHANCE! Walker gives up possession on the halfway line and Colombia are away! Ball finds its way to Cuadrado, with England defenders scrambling, but his blasts over. Their best chance and it was a poor effort to be honest.

81' Substitutes: Deli Alli comes off for Tottenham Hotspur teammate Eric Dier. And Mateus Uribe on for Carlos Sanchez.

80' Colombia have really been toothless in attack, they've offered very little going forward. Really missing the influence of James Rodriguez...

77' Counter-attack from England sees Lingard get onto Sterling's through ball. Davinson appears to take him down, with no touch on the ball. But the referee waves play-on.

75' Not this time, Kane stretches for Young's cross, but he misses and is called offside anyway.

74' Another Colombia foul - this time Cuadrado - another England free-kick. Surely they'll make one of these count sooner or later...

69' Another yellow, this time for England's Jessie Lingard. That's the seventh of a game that has descended into a bit of a circus. Both teams guilty of play-acting, while Colombia in particular have been overzealous in challenges.

63' CHANCE! Alli heads over from Trippier's cross. Off target, decent opportunity.

61' First substitute here, Carlos Bacca comes on for Jefferson Lerma. 

60' Great stat here on Harry Kane... the first England player to score in six consecutive games for England in 79 years!

57' GOAL! Kane slots it straight down the middle. England in the lead. (Henderson was given a yellow in the build-up, too.)

54' PENALTY! Carlos Sanchez first tries to shoulder Harry Kane to the ground, when that doesn't work he mounts him. No choice for the referee, a stupid "challenge", a point to the spot and a yellow for C. Sanchez.

53' Young whips in a free-kick, Maguire is set to pounce but Davinson Sanchez nicks the ball out for a corner. 

51' Not a very enthralling start to the second period. Deli Alli is really struggling to get into this match, with Sterling and Kane often dropping into deeper positions. Southgate may feel the need to make a substitute soon.

46' And we're back on!

HALFTIME

Well, that's the end of the first half. England definitely started brighter, pinging the ball around and looking sharp in their movements. But they couldn't fashion any chances of note, the best falling to Harry Kane, but it was a difficult header and he put it over the bar.

Colombia have defended well, have broken down England's attacks with quite a few fouls, and have dealt easily with England's set pieces. In attack, they haven't made too much headway outside a few speculative long-range efforts.

Goalless. All to play for.

45 +2' Jesse Lingard shoots over the bar from about eight yards out. But it was at an awkward height, bit hard for him to get over the ball. Now Deli Alli is down, he missed the second group game due to injury.

45 +2' Quintero hits from distance, easy collect for Jordan Pickford.

45' More handbags as Mina drops to the floor after Sterling wrestles free of his shirt-tug. First half ending in a bit of a farce...

42' Trippier hits it... and it flies disappointingly wide. No threat there.

40' Bit of a holdup as handbags are thrown in the box. Barrios gently pushes his head into Henderson's chest, the England man throws himself to the floor. Dramatic. Referee gives Barrios a yellow, but it should just be play-on.

38' England have a free-kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box, Lemar unnecessarily chopping down Kane. Good chance here for England!

31' England are making some slick combinations but it's not producing much in terms of chances. They've had a few corners and free-kicks in dangerous positions, but are yet to create anything of note. Colombia happy to give up possession, defend (well), and wait for an opening.

24' Colombia increasing their influence over this match. Maguire and Stones both forced to intervene as first Quintero's shot is blocked and then Falcao attempts to jump on the loose ball.

19' Colombia with a little spell of possession, looking sharper than they have done and perhaps they're ready to get into the game. England well organized, however, and are pressing smartly.

16' CHANCE Harry Kane's header loops onto the top of the netting, a great move by England ending with Trippier crossing for the No.9. England have to make this pressure count.

13' Sterling wriggles free to make space to shoot, after England turned over possession, but his effort is blocked by Sanchez. England on the front foot here, but they still look susceptible to Colombia's inevitable counter-attacks.

12' Sterling basically carries Mina halfway down the field on his back. Another foul, another set piece for England. This has to be their sixth or seventh.

8' It's a good start from England. They have the first corner of the match after Sterling latches onto Trippier's quick free-kick and sees his cross blocked.

6' CHANCE Young goes straight for goal, but Ospina parries away. The follow-up cross into the box is headed away.

5' Free-kick for England after Sterling cuts back from the byline and Mina handles the ball while diving in.

2' Oof, whistles and jeers everytime England touch the ball. This is absolutely like a home game for the Colombians.

KICKOFF We're off, Colombia getting us underway!

19:57 National anthems have been belted out - Colombia's is a cracker - and we're just minute away from kickoff!

19:45 Remember, England rested most of their starting XI against Belgium. They lost 1-0 and lost momentum, but could that breather prove the difference in this match? Colombia have six outfield players that have started all three group games, including their front trio of Falcao, Quintero and Cuadrado.

19:23 James Rodriguez marked as "absent" on the official teamsheet. That surely implies he's unavailable. Huge blow for Colombia if that's the case! He went off injured against Senegal with a calf injury. 

19:05 Here are the official lineups...

19:00 We're just an hour away from kickoff in the final Round of 16 clash between Colombia and England. The victors will face Sweden, who continue their amazing run in this World Cup by defeating Switzerland 1-0.

Colombia are missing star man James Rodriguez from their starting lineup, which is a massive blow for Los Cafeteros. They'll be hoping playmaker Juan Quintero can unlock their opponent's defence. England are at full strength and there is growing optimism that they can win their first knockout game since 2006. Set pieces could prove the difference, England have scored six of their eight goals from either the penalty spot or free-kicks.

For some pre-game reading, check out our preview of tonight's blockbuster, as well as our match report from Sweden's victory over Switzerland.

England dare to believe ahead of a Colombia showdown

Emil Forsberg sends Sweden into quarterfinals