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 well 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 in front of the opposition’s goal.
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 for England and Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca both failed to score for Colombia, Dier’s successful spot-kick sealed the Three Lions’ place in the last eight.
