England’s Harry Kane scores on a penalty kick in the second half. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Two more yellow cards to Colombia
Colombia’s Radamel Falcao and Carlos Bacca were issued yellow cards in the 63rd and 64th minutes, respectively, as the referee tried to maintain control of a chippy game. That’s five yellow cards in the match for Los Cafeteros, who were no doubt frustrated by the foul that resulted in England’s penalty kick.
Substitution for Colombia
Carlos Bacca replaced Jefferson Lerma in the 62nd minute.
Goal!
Carlos Sanchez shoved Harry Kane in the box on a corner kick in the 54th minute, resulting in a yellow card for the Colombia defender and a penalty kick for England. Kane buried his shot from the spot into the back of the net to give England a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute. England’s Jordan Henderson was issued a yellow card before Kane’s sixth goal of the tournament.
Yellow card to Colombia
Santiago Arias was issued a yellow card in the 52nd for elbowing England’s Harry Kane in the back as they both went up for the ball.
Halftime update: Colombia 0, England 0
The first half featured 12 total shots, including eight by England, and a head butt by Colombia’s Wilmar Barrios, but nary a goal.
After head butt, England fails to capitalize on yet another set piece
In the 38th minute, Colombia’s Jefferson Lerma took down Harry Kane at the edge of the penalty box. As players from both sides jostled for position in front of goalkeeper David Ospina before the ensuing free kick, Colombia’s Wilmar Barrios head-butted Jordan Henderson in the chin, drawing a yellow card. Barrios will miss Colombia’s next match should Los Cafeteros advance. After that drama, Kieran Trippier drilled the free kick wide of the goal, and the game remained scoreless.
All even thus far
Midway through the first half, possession was even between the two sides. Colombia’s Radamel Falcao nearly had a chance in the box, but the ball deflected to teammate Johan Mojica, whose attempt from about 25 yards out sailed well over the crossbar. England’s best chance was a header by Harry Kane off a cross from Kieran Trippier in the 16th minute that bounced off the top of the net.
Los Cafeteros shot-less
Fifteen minutes into the first half, England had the game’s only four shots and five set pieces.
Two early set pieces for England
A handball on Colombia in the fifth minute led to a free kick for England from just outside the box. Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina punched away Ashley Young’s ensuing set piece. Moments later, Ospina grabbed a corner kick and threw it out of harm’s way.
Starting lineups announced
Bad news for Colombia: James Rodriguez, who has been battling a calf injury, isn’t in the starting lineup. The 2014 Golden Boot winner won’t be coming on as a substitute, either, as he’s listed as ‘Absent’ on Los Cafeteros’s team sheet.
[Sweden advances to quarterfinals with 1-0 win over Switzerland]
Pregame thoughts
After England clinched a spot in the knockout round with a pair of wins in its first two games in Russia, manager Gareth Southgate decided to rest eight players for the Three Lions’ final group stage game against Belgium.
“This was a game we wanted to win but the knockout is the biggest game for a decade for us and we had to make sure our key players were preserved,” Southgate said, via The Guardian, after England’s 1-0 loss. “You have to look at the bigger picture sometimes and make decisions which, in some quarters, might be criticized. But everyone understands — in the dressing room and in the group — what we’re trying to do.”
What England is trying to do is advance beyond the round of 16 for the first time since 2006, when it reached the quarterfinals. It won’t be easy against a Colombia squad led by striker Radamel Falcao, midfielder Juan Quintero and midfielder James Rodriguez. The winner will face Sweden for a berth in the semifinals; the Swedes beat Switzerland, 1-0, earlier Tuesday.
[Don’t buy into England’s chances to win the World Cup just yet]
“We have done a lot of work on them,” England right back Kieran Trippier said. “When you look at the players they’ve got in the team and the way the qualified in their group as well, they’ve got some quality players and we need to be aware of that.”
In 2014, Colombia qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to host Brazil, 2-1. Los Cafeteros, who needed a win over Senegal to get out of the group stage this year after dropping their opener to Japan, head into Tuesday’s match a confident bunch.
“We are a better team than four years ago,” Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina told The Guardian. “We are together, more experienced and a stronger squad of players than we were in Brazil. We have experience and good quality. Our players play in the best clubs, the best leagues, and are used to playing in matches of this size, so nothing will frighten us. England are a good team but we did not mind who it was we would face.”
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When: Tuesday, 2 p.m. Eastern.
How to watch on TV: Fox.
How to stream online: Fox Sports and the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.
How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.
How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.
What’s next
The winner plays Sweden in a quarterfinal at 10 a.m. Saturday in Samara (Fox).
[Here’s the full bracket and schedule]
Team profiles
Colombia
- Previous results: Lost to Japan, 2-1. Defeated Poland, 3-0. Defeated Senegal, 1-0.
- Best World Cup finish: Quarterfinals, 2014.
- Notable: Three of Colombia’s five goals during the group stage came on set pieces.
- FIFA world ranking: 16. ELO world ranking: 10.
England
- Previous results: Defeated Tunisia, 2-1. Defeated Panama, 6-1. Lost to Belgium, 1-0.
- Best World Cup finish: Champion, 1966.
- Notable: England has three wins and two draws in five previous meetings with Colombia, including a 2-0 win during the group stage of the 1998 World Cup.
- FIFA world ranking: 12. ELO world ranking: 8.
Players to watch
James Rodriguez, who has been dealing with a calf strain throughout the tournament, was subbed out in the 31st minute of Colombia’s last match against Senegal. “After his MRI we knew that he doesn’t have a serious injury,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said Monday of Rodriguez, who has been involved in 10 of Colombia’s last 14 World Cup goals dating back to 2014. “So we still have one and a half days to see how he feels.” If Rodriguez is unable to play, more pressure will fall on Juan Quintero, who had a goal and two assists during the group stage. For England, the player to watch is Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who scored five goals in England’s wins over Tunisia and Panama before sitting out the loss to Belgium.
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