World Cup 2018: England Reaches Quarterfinals After Beating Colombia In Penalty Shootout

England reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday by defeating Colombia 4-3 in penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie in Moscow, Russia.

World CuP: England Beats Colombia In Penalties

This marks the first time England have ever won a penalty shootout in the World Cup. The Three Lions had been knocked out of the 1990, 1998 and 2006 tournaments on penalties. England will next face Sweden, who defeated Switzerland 1-0 in regulation, on Saturday.

Tuesday’s second game was a notably tense one, filled with great animosity between the two teams and even with regard to the officials, particularly American referee Mark Geiger. Colombia was again missing star Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez, who continues to recover from a leg injury.

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After a scoreless first half, England’s captain Harry Kane put the team up 1-0 with a penalty in the 57th minute following a call that was argued and reviewed for around three minutes. Carlos Sanchez had taken down Kane in the box. England didn’t escape this moment without any punishment, however, as Jordan Henderson received a yellow card for head-butting Colombia’s Yerry Mina. 

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Tempers flared for much of the second half, and England seemed to be just moments away from advancing to the next round before Mina tied it 1-1 in the 93rd minute with a header off a corner kick. Spartak Stadium, which had mostly Colombian fans in the stands, roared as the Latin Americans reveled in keeping their hopes alive for just a little while longer.

England finally secured their victory after Colombia’s Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca missed their team’s last two penalty shots. Henderson was the only member of the Three Lions squad to miss a penalty, the team’s third, but Eric Dier fired the last kick past goalkeeper David Ospina to make the win official.

Article by Pablo Mena