The final 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match sees Colombia entertain England at 21:00 local time on Tuesday 3rd July at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.
Both sides progressed from their group with seven points thanks to two victories and one defeat and both know they are only three games away from reaching the World Cup final. It could be a case of whoever handles the pressure the best makes it through. It should be an exciting game for the neutral fans to watch.
England's forwards were in hot form during the Group stage and only Belgium managed to score more goals than the Three Lions. Defensively, however, England conceded in all three games and often looked suspect when teams ran at them directly.
Add to this the fact Colombia have scored in nine of their previous 11 games and you have the recipe for a high scoring game in Moscow.
Colombia may have kept four clean sheets in their previous five games, but they were against lesser opposition and England's attack will pose a more significant threat.
Colombia vs England Key Bites
Colombia have only ever progressed from the Round of 16 once in the five times they have qualified for the World Cup finals, that coming at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to Brazil.
The Colombians have plenty of players who can show glimpses of flair, although James Rodriguez, Colombia's best player, could miss out due to suffering a calf problem in the match against Senegal in Colombia's final group game. Rodriguez will be massively missed if he cannot recover in time.
Colombia have scored in nine of their 11 matches and managed to keep clean sheets in four of their last five games. With the exception of Belgium, Colombia will be the toughest test England have faced at this World Cup.
Although usually defensively sound, Colombian players are prone to a rush of blood to the head and can give away needless free kicks and find themselves in the referee's book. in a high pressure environment like this, Colombia need to stay disciplined and limit England's chances.
The English press is claiming this is England's best chance of winning the World Cup since they emerged victorious in 1966. England have an awful record in the knockout stages of major tournaments, although manager Gareth Southgate has selected a squad where the majority of them do not have this burden to bear.
Southgate has got England playing an attack-minded style, one that is explosive from the first whistle and this puts the opposition under tremendous pressure. Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain Harry Kane is in scintilating form right now and has scored in each of his last five appearances for the national side and currently leads this tournament's Golden Boot race.
A couple of question marks remain about this England squad. The first is a lack of a creative midfielder in the number 10 role. It has not hindered them so far, but Colombia will be a far tougher test for England than those teams faced in the group stages.
Another slight worry is the fact England have not managed to keep a clean sheet against either Tunisia and Panama. England looked out of sorts in defense when these teams, on the rare occasion, attacked them, so will be under a lot of stress as Colombia love to constantly go forwards and attack.
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Tag : colombia , England , FIFA World Cup , football betting , Soccer
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