England’s World Cup campaign is back on the right track after recording a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Mexico on Saturday. The Three Lionesses will look to sustain the momentum from that huge victory when they take on Colombia in a pivotal Group F clash at Olympic Stadium later today.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this critical clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our World Cup previews of France vs. Mexico and Brazil vs. Costa Rica.
England will head to its crunch clash with Colombia with momentum on its side after recording a nerve-wracking 2-1 victory against Mexico on Saturday. It was a huge bounce-back win for England who climbed into second place in the Group F table with three points to its name.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The Three Lionesses’ victory wouldn’t be possible without the heroics of Fran Kirby. She marked her first World Cup start with the game’s crucial opening goal in the 70th minute. It was a moment of sheer brilliance from the 21-year-old who caught a trio of defenders off-balance before deftly poking the ball past Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago for that all-important opener.
Kirby wasn’t just the only youngster who impressed in that Mexico game. Alex Greenwood also had a majestic performance for the Three Lionesses in this match, creating Karen Carney’s second goal with a delightful cross. This dynamic duo is expected to carry the offensive cudgels for England once again when they take on Colombia in their final group game this coming Wednesday.
A draw in this match should be enough for England to see them through to the knock-out phase. For England to grab that result against Colombia, it needs to dominate the possession game once again. They controlled 60% of the possession in their win against Mexico. That helped England establish a 23-20 advantage in shot attempts and a 10-7 edge in the shots on target department against Mexico.
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Betting on Colombia
Now that was a shock.
Colombia produced one of the biggest upsets in Women’s World Cup history as they beat France, 2-0, on Saturday. Lady Andrade and Catalina Usme scored the winning goals for Colombia who soared to the top of the Group F standings with four points to its name. Ranked No. 28 in the world, Colombia is the lowest-ranked team to beat a top-10 team at the Women’s World Cup since FIFA began its rankings back in 2003.
It was totally an unexpected result for the Colombians who only had 40% of the possession against the French. What helped the Colombians’ cause, though, was their physical brand of play which successfully bogged down France’s vaunted offense. Thanks to their quick and aggressive style, the Colombians repeatedly threatened the French on the counter-attack. This was displayed into full effect in Usme’s stoppage-time goal late in the second half.
The Colombians will need more of the same physicality in their next match against England if they are to advance to the next round. A draw will be enough for Colombia to seal its passage to the knock-out phase so expect the South American nation to pack up the midfield and just hit England on the counter-attack whenever the opportunity arises.
They will need to pay special attention to Reading striker Fran Kirby who has a proven to be a definite game-changer for the Three Lionesses in this tournament. The onus is on Natalia Gaitan and the rest of the Colombian back-line to put the clamps on the young English star. Colombia has allowed just one goal in its first two group games.
