ENGLAND
LIKELY TEAM (3-1-4-1-1): Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Henderson, Trippier, Lingard, Alli, Young, Sterling, Kane
- England's 1-0 defeat versus Belgium was the first time in fifteen World Cup appearances that they have failed to keep a clean sheet in the first round group stages of the tournament
- All 23 members of England’s squad are based at English clubs. Colombia have just three home-based players in their squad
Given the mass media hysteria you would be forgiven to think that this is just another international tournament for the Three Lions where an overrated bunch of mercenaries and "golden generation" stutter through their group only to get knocked out by a so called "lesser nation" in the knockout rounds. However given the make up of this England setup, their progressive modern day manager in Gareth Southgate and start to the tournament the English have several reasons for optimism. Although there have been several attempts by English media made to de rail and disrupt the happy English camp based in Repino on the gulf of Finland, team morale is at an all time high. While arguably several English media outlets reached an all time low with their recent vilification of Raheem Sterling. It all sounds a bit same old England but what's different this time.
To start the manager is a young Englishman who like most of the players is getting his first taste of tournament football. Southgate has been a breath of fresh air since being appointed by the FA as head of elite development in 2011 alongside Sir Trevor Brooking. In August 2013 he was appointed U-21s manager and it was only of two summers ago did he manage that side to success in the prestigious Toulon summer tournament with Ruben Loftus-Cheek starring. Come September 2016 and with the English national side once again disgraced by the Sam Allardyce scandal Southgate was fasttracked into the main job. Although laboring through the remaining qualifying games it has been the steps which Southgate has taken since that has caught the attention of the English public. and won many admirers. His appointment of ex Chelsea man; Steve Holland was shrewd to say the least, Holland a former assistant to Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte to name a few was respected immensely in South West London and Chelsea's downturn in form last season was largely accredited to his departure from the Blues staff.
The handing of the armband to Spurs striker Harry Kane has also proved to be pivotal with the 24 year old showing no letup in his goalscoring form and looks anything but a man weighed down by the pressure of leading his country to the latter stages of the tournament. Kane's record of 18 goals in 26 international appearances is remarkable. The England manager has come in for praise too for the handling of sensitive topics such as Wayne Rooney's departure from the squad along with the recent furor surrounding Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose's off field troubles. It is noteworthy that Southgate is a player's manager having played so long himself and although come kickoff time Sterling will have gone 999 days since his England goal you can be certain the England gaffer has each and everyone of the squad's backs. Southgate has also emerged to be a fan of American sports such as NFL and NBA and has surrounded himself with deep level thinkers of both codes. His attendance at the Superbowl in February was the main reason behind his decision to appoint Striker coach; Scottsman, Allan Russell who also has conceived several set piece scenarios and the thinker in chief behind England's success in the Tunisia and Panama games.
Given the fact that there are no real superstars in this English squad and that all players are generally of the same level of ability there is undeniably a camaraderie and togetherness about this English squad. This is something which was a far cry from the reality of the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championships in Portugal where cliques existed and Gerrard, Beckham, Lampard, Rooney and Owen all competed against one another to be the national icon. Ruben Loftus-Cheek recently came out and spoke about the FA's efforts to improve communication on and off the pitch amongst all its teams from the under 15s in St.George's Park to the team that will take the field against Colombia tomorrow. Kieran Trippier has come out and talked about the player's self imposed phone ban at dinner each night. I for one would not read much into their recent performance against Belgium for a variety of reasons, as a pair of coaches as astute as Southgate and Holland would have done their homework and decided England's starting XI long before the start of the tournament and prepared accordingly in training. Some experts argue Danny Rose should replace Ashley Young on the left side of England's defence. The Tottenham possesses a better left foot than the United man and provides better balance to the English attack however Young's defensive capabilities and leadership cannot be underestimated and his delivery from the left wing is valuable to the English gameplan. Kieran Trippier will fancy his chances down England's right against Colombia's exposed left side while Dele Alli and Jesee Lingard will cause havoc among the Colombian defence with their fluid, interchangeable movement between the lines.
Southgate is a clever man and knows he will come in for justified criticism should England suffer defeat at the hands of Colombia given his team selection against Belgium. He will be wary that the last sixteen World Cup semi finalists have won their last group game indicating that momentum is key. However English fans and players alike can be confident all their dreams of World Cup glory lie with a man who is befitting of a part time elder brother, father, counsel, tactician and coach which are all attributes required to succeed today as a modern football manager. I would not go out on a limb to suggest football is coming home but if they do emerge victorious come Tuesday night at the Spartak arena, I for one would not back against Gareth's Barmy Army reaching the showpiece event July 15th across town at the Luzhniki stadium. Unless you have been under a rock the past two weeks, you know as well as I do that at this World Cup logic does not exist.
COLOMBIA
LIKELY TEAM (4-2-3-1): Ospina, Arias, D.Sanchez, Mina, Mojica, C.Sanchez, Uribe, James, Quintero, Cuadrado, Falcao
- Colombia have progressed past the group stages for only their third time (1990,2014)
- Have never been involved in a 0-0 in their World Cup history
- Have never beaten England in their entire history (D2 L3)
Colombia like England will be fancying their chances to reach the final given their side of the bracket. Such heights seemed far away in the years immediately after Pekerman's playing career came to an end for both manager and country. At 28, injuries forced him to retire. With a young family to support, he worked as a taxi driver in Buenos Aires. At lunchtime, he would park up wherever he saw kids playing football, get out his packed lunch and watch while he ate. Several Jobs as head of youth recruitment and stints in charge of various South American clubs followed. Pekerman later headed the front of the Argentina youth squad which was a success both in terms of trophies and in providing a supply line of footballers for the senior squad. Argentina won three Under-20 World Cups under Pekerman's direct watch, and another two after he was promoted to become the senior national team coach. He left that position after Argentina, having produced some spellbinding football, were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of the 2006 World Cup on penalties to hosts Germany. In 2012, Colombia came calling. They were in a difficult spot. Two coaches had come and gone since their failed attempt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, and they needed some direction and stability. It was a hard decision to again turn to a foreigner, an Argentinian, after nearly three decades of native coaches, but results soon justified the choice. Pekerman not only successfully steered Colombia to their first World Cup qualification since 1998 but took them all the way to the last eight, where they narrowly lost out to hosts Brazil. A second successive qualification was sealed in solid if admittedly largely unimpressive style, but in Russia, his team have bounced back well from defeat to Japan in their opener to progress to the knockout stages on the back of wins over Poland and Senegal.
The Golden Boot winner with six goals in the 2014 World Cup when Colombia reached the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, James was troubled by a calf injury earlier this month. He came off the bench in his team's 2-1 loss to Japan in their opener. James then started and set up two goals in a 3-0 triumph over Poland. Quintero had far less room to move, Cuadrado was starved of supply, Falcao looked about as effective as he had during his injury-bedevilled spells with Manchester United and Chelsea. Ultimately they depended on another set piece, powerfully dispatched by the towering Barcelona reserve centre back Yerry Mina, to progress to the knock-out. This is the stark reality facing Colombia on Tuesday should their star man not be available. Losing James would be a big setback for Colombia, but coach Pekerman is convinced "Los Cafeteros" can do well in the event he does not recover. The Senegal group game, gave a much better indication to Gareth Southgate of how to play Jose Pekerman’s side: they squeezed, harried and reduced the space in which the South Americans could create. Plus, the victory over Poland was the game in which James Rodriguez demonstrated that his Golden Boot from the last World Cup was no fluke. The Bayern Munich loanee was superb, the team’s orchestrator, linking up with Juan Quintero in the centre of the pitch, supplying an endless stream of passes to Juan Cuadrado on the wing and the venerable front runner Radamel Falcao.
If James indeed misses out all Colmbian hopes will be pinned on Juan Quintero who in a time of creative No. 5s, box-to-box midfielders, offensive wing-back and more, one of the World Cup's best players is an old-fashioned playmaker, a selfless pass-first player who comes to life with the ball at his feet. He is appealing in that he has the capacity to produce the extraordinary while showing a determination and openness to do the more nitty gritty aspects which was required of a yesteryear box to box midfielder. There are many remarkable stories to be told about the 736 players at the World Cup and the challenges they have overcome, but ahead of England’s last-16 clash with Colombia on Tuesday, Falcao’s holds particular resonance. As the devastating impact of his injury played out in the Premier League, it was painful to witness the unravelling of one of game’s great strikers. When he left Chelsea having made just one appearance since the end of October, the idea of Falcao playing at the 2018 World Cup would have scarcely seemed believable. But his belief deep down never wavered and nearly two years later here he is full of vitality and a throwback to his former self and at the age of 31 is appearing in his first World Cup.
There is a wider unity than simply that forged in Rubin Kazan’s training centre in Tartarstan. And the players feel they have a duty to deliver for those who have followed them so far. Colombia fan Daniel Quiroga cycled 3,100 miles through seven different countries to be in Russia. Fans have sold cars, quit jobs like their Peruvian neighbors to taste what Russia has to offer. The most famous of the lot is Gustavo Llanos, aka 'El Cole' - Colombia's Birdman (photo above). Five years into a law degree when Los Cafeteros qualified for Italia'90, their first World Cup in 28 years, Llanos had to make a choice between finishing his studies or following his team.He quit the books and slept rough around Italy at parks, beaches and train stations. Llanos has since become a Colombian icon and the unofficial mascot of the team, with his condor outfit symbolising national freedom. Every airport terminal rings to chants of “ole ola, mi Colombia va a ganar” [my Colombia is going to win]. And right now, as Valderrama, Higuita and hordes of their countrymen make their noisy way to Moscow for Tuesday’s last sixteen engagement with England, among them there is a growing air of confidence. From past and present, everyone knows the Colombians in particular don't do half measures and that surely will only add to the excitement that is about to unfold in front of us in the Spartak Arena.
WHERE GAME WILL BE WON
Jose Pekerman in games versus Poland and Senegal positioned attacking midfielders James and Juan Quintero to the left when without possession to help support their rather erratic left back Johan Mojica thereby leaving their right flank exposed when the play was switched. England will attempt to retain possession patiently, avoiding the Colombian counter press and will look for the movement of Sterling, Alli and Lingard in behind and betwen the lines. Given time and space Jordan Henderson could flourish in his role supplying the English front quartet exposing the Colombian's high line. How successful the likes of Stones and Maguire play out from the back will go a long way into deciding the outcome of the game.
PREDICTION
England and Kane to march on rendering the Beeb, ITV and Sky Sports unwatchable until Saturday at least.
England 2 -1 Colombia