No clean sheets tonight
Colombia vs. England proves to be a mouthwatering affair in the round of 16 between two teams who have an array of attacking talent raring to go forward.
Colombia
Colombia struggled to find the net in their pre-tournament friendly matches, but have found the net in each of their three group stage matches. The Colombians at first faltered to Japan, but bounced back with consecutive victories to go through top of their group. This included a freescoring 3-0 win against Poland.
They still look shaky when teams can pass the ball with confidence around the pitch
Colombia have one of the most exciting attacking teams in the tournament and they deserved should be in the knockout stages. Players like Falcao, Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Quintero and even Carlos Bacca means they have firepower on the pitch and even coming off the bench to excite and switch it up if necessary.
They’ve tightened up their defence when it’s counted in the last two games after losing to Japan in their opener. Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina has a wealth of experience with his 86 caps and has made some key saves but they still look shaky when teams can pass the ball with confidence around the pitch, and this England side can certainly do that.
England
England have won all but one of their last six matches, only narrowing losing 1-0 to Belgium in the final group match after fielding a second string, weakened side. Now England manager Gareth Southgate will bring back his big guns for their most important test yet.
England have plenty of choice when it comes to attacking outlets
Captain and leading scorer Harry Kane will be leading the line for the Three Lions and he’s found incredible form in this year’s World Cup. Like Colombia, England have plenty of choice when it comes to attacking outlets. Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling look set to start behind captain Kane, but the likes of Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli, and Jamie Vardy can come off the bench to surprise the Colombian defence.
England looked impressive against both Tunisia and Panama, and while Colombia do represent a definite step up in the quality of their opponents, the English players just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. They’ve shown they can attack down the flanks with fast and confident wing backs, they can score from intelligent set pieces, and they’ve proven their link up play in the final third.
Match Tips
What’s more, England will most likely have to score more than one to keep this Colombia side at bay. The Colombians love to attack and have shown what they’re capable with excellent team goals against Poland. The English look clumsy when defending set pieces and first choice goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has some questions marks surrounding him.
Don’t necessarily count on it being a high scoring game, but expect both teams to score at any rate. Colombia and England know if they make it past this match they have a great shot at making the final and will certainly try and take the lead in this match. That’s why I’m going for 13/10 (2.30) with 888Sport on both teams to score at some point during the match.
Post bet chat Adam's Tips:
Possibly one of the most petulant games I've seen from a team (Colombia) in recent times. I thought it would go a different way with both teams scoring freely throughout the 90 minutes. However, England held on and much to my anguish (although I had a winning bet) Colombia scored in the final minute of play to take it to extra time and pens. Not that I was thinking about the bet then...