World Cup 2018: 4 reasons why England must take Colombia seriously

During the last fortnight, the sense of optimism and belief has grown amongst England fans; with the two victories against Tunisia and Panama giving England fans the chance to dream ever so slightly. The three lions, however, were given a rather blunt reality check with a 1-0 defeat to Belgium in their final group game.

Colombia England Score and Live Commentary, World Cup 2018

The defeat, however, has not stopped some England fans taking to Twitter to analyse their team’s potential quarter-final and semi-final fixtures, with many using the phrase, “it’s coming home” to show their confidence and belief.

However, with such confidence comes the risk of underestimating the opposition; something England must avoid doing this time around if they are to fulfil all the hype surrounding them. There should also be no reason to underestimate Colombia, given the weapons they have at their disposal.

Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez and Juan Quintero are all capable of hurting teams with their pace and trickery, with three of them having won league titles in one of Europe’s top five leagues. At the back, the likes of David Sanchez and Yerry Mina add the steel and solidity needed to complement their attacking quality, making Colombia a very well-rounded team indeed. All this means the Three Lions will need to concentrate and play at their very best if they are to progress to the quarterfinals.

#4 Colombia’s creativity

Containing Colombia’s vast array of attacking will be real of test England’s concentration and resolve. Many English fans might remember Juan Cuadrado from his rather dismal spell at Chelsea, where he failed to establish a first-team place and was loaned out after half-a-season. Since his move to Juventus, however, he has taken his game to an entirely different level, cementing a place in the starting eleven and leading The Old Lady to three successive Serie A titles. He has also played right-back for Juventus this season, showing that he has the defensive side to go with the attacking prowess.

James Rodriguez willing his team on

Although Lionel Messi won the best player award at the 2014 World Cup, almost everybody deep-down knew the award should have gone to James Rodriguez. Rodriguez, however, scored six goals in that tournament, including a stunning volley against Uruguay in the last sixteen to secure the golden boot. James’ performances caught the eye of Real Madrid president Fiorentino Perez, as Rodriguez moved from Monaco to Real Madrid for a fee of 71 million pounds.

In Colombia’s game against Poland, James’ weight of pass and vision proved vital for Juan Cuadrado’s goal as he earned the man of the match award for his all-around performance. The only question marks with Rodriguez lie with his fitness, as he missed the opening game against Japan and is still not a certainty for the England match.

Quintero celebrating Colombia's

equaliser

against Japan

The 26-year-old, however, does have a very worthy replacement in River Plate’s Juan Quintero. When Colombia went down to ten men against Japan after four minutes, all seemed to have been lost. Shinji Kagawa’s resulting penalty gave Japan the lead but Colombia remained spirited and energetic, as Quintero led the fightback. His clever free-kick, which went under the Japanese wall gave Colombia their equaliser and although they lost 2-1, Quintero’s ability was there for all to see.

#3 The last time England underestimated their opponents

Iceland celebrating their second goal against England

Just over two years ago came one of the darkest days in English football, as England lost 2-1 to Iceland at Euro 2016. Before the match, many pundits and analysts predicted a comfortable win for the three lions, despite Iceland’s first placed finish in a group containing Portugal, Hungary and Austria. The group stages also had a similar feeling, as England put lacklustre displays against Russia and Slovakia and ended up finishing second in the group behind Wales.

There were signs of overconfidence against Belgium, as Gareth Southgate made nine changes for the final group game. Although the Belgians made eight changes themselves, England might have been better off fielding a stronger team in search of a victory; a result which would have seen the Three Lions play Japan rather than Colombia.

After going a goal down, there was a distinct lack of urgency and hunger from everyone in white and they did not make enough of an attempt to get back into the game. For Adnan Januzaj’s goal, the lack of intensity was apparent, as the former Manchester United man bided his time until he could cut inside and curl the ball into the top corner. Yuri Tielemans was also allowed to have a shot without pressure, which resulted in a nervy save from Jordan Pickford and an England clearance.

The England team will surely recognise the dangers of Colombia, given the talent they have in attacking areas. However, heading into any game on the back of a defeat is always risky and it is imperative England play with the same intensity and creativity as they did in the first two matches.

#2 England’s new style of play

England manager Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate must be credited for finding England’s best formation and first eleven in the time he has been in charge. Part of the reason why the three lion’s failed so miserably at Euro 2016, was due to Roy Hodgson’s continuous change of formation and tactics. Jorge Sampaoli also changed formation in every one of Argentina’s four World Cup games, with the Argentines dependent on individual quality to get them through; a strategy that cannot be used to win a major tournament.

Southgate has also encouraged his players to express themselves and play the ball out from the back. However, England’s desire to express themselves comes with an enormous risk; losing the ball in dangerous positions. Despite their opening two victories, the England backline and midfield made frequent mistakes, allowing Panama and Tunisia through on goal several times. Both of those teams failed to capitalise on their good fortune but a team of Colombia’s quality will punish England if they make the same mistakes.

#1 Radamel Falcao

Falcao celebrates his goal against Poland

England in recent major tournaments have suffered at the hands of world-class strikers. In the 2014 World Cup, Mario Balotelli scored the winner in a 2-1 win for the Italians, with Luis Suarez bagging a brace against the Three Lion in the second group game. Germany’s Thomas Muller scored a brace against the English four years earlier as Die Mannschaft won 4-1, with Miroslav Klose also on the scoresheet.

Like Juan Cuadrado, Falcao endured a torrid time in England with both Manchester United and Chelsea, as he failed to discover the form that made him so lethal at Atletico Madrid. However, in recent seasons, El Tigre has regained his magic touch, with Falcao’s goals proving pivotal for Monaco, as they won the 2016-2017 Ligue 1 title.

The Colombian really is the complete striker, capable of scoring with his head, with both feet and even acrobatically. John Stones, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker will need to be disciplined and focused if they are to deal with him.