Colombia vs England round of 16 World Cup 2018

England didn’t want to play on Thursday against Belgium. Gareth Southgate’s men let their opponent decide their faith and seemed happy with any outcome. They lost, won a spot in the weaker side of the 2018 World Cup bracket and get to face Colombia next. The match will take place on Tuesday at 20:00 in Spartak Moscow’s Otkritie Arena.

Colombia: Group H winner (6 points, 5:2 goal difference)

The road here wasn’t easy for Los Cafeteros. Carlos Sanchez’s early red card in the first match against Japan changed the entire complexity of Group H. It is what put Colombia in a position to doubt its spot in the last 16 and it’s also what likely eliminated Senegal. James Rodriguez and his teammates had to battle back and did so in style versus Poland. That was one of the best team performances so far during the 2018 World Cup and it also demonstrated how good Colombia is when their star player is on top of his game. However, that star player got hurt in training before game one kicked off and the injury resurfaced against Senegal. It forced him to leave the pitch and cheer on his countrymen from the bench. Colombia is not the same team without him. The Senegalese were distracted with a substitution when Yerry Mina scored his header and if it weren’t for that moment, we could be talking a different story now.

England: Group G runner-up (6 points, 8:3 goal difference)

After two encouraging displays in the first two games against Tunisia and Panama, Gareth Southgate risked killing England’s momentum by resting his starters against Belgium. Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were the only three players who started in the previous game. The match versus Belgium was supposed to serve as a gauge of how strong The Three Lions actually are. That didn’t happen, so we still don’t have a definite clue of their real fortitude.

What we do know is they have the World Cup’s best finisher in Tottenham’s Harry Kane. We know Southgate will keep using a formation with three center backs (John Stones, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker) and we also know England doesn’t have an attacking midfielder to connect the lines.

Colombia vs. England prediction

Jose Pekerman elected to bring Carlos Sanchez back into the starting lineup versus Senegal after the defensive midfielder served his red card suspension. Colombia’s midfield looked stale and passive with him around. Wilmar Barrios is a better option and should start. Both teams have excellent headers of the ball. It’ll be fascinating to see Davinson Sanchez trying to stop his Tottenham teammate Harry Kane. England’s defensive trio shouldn’t have troubles with Radamel Falcao. Quintero, Cuadrado and Rodriguez are the ones they need to be worried about. Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling are the players who hold the key to England’s offensive production and who could hold the key to the quarter-final.

The final outcome of this game lies mainly in the presence and fitness of James Rodriguez. If he plays, Colombia has a good chance of eliminating its more reputable opponent. Without him, England’s artillery will eventually break the South Americans’ pride and passion.

Colombia vs. England betting odds