England through but what have we learnt?

England scraped through on penalties last night in one of the least attractive games this world cup has seen. As an England fan, I am of course delighted that we won and bizarrely pleased it did go to penalties so that we could throw off the gorilla on our back. Now that myself and the rest of the country are somewhat back to our senses after that heart attack of a game it is time to reflect: what the bloody hell went wrong?

How did we go to penalties against one of the poorest and most cynical sides we have seen this world cup?

England looked confident and assertive for large parts of the game but ultimately failed to make much of a mark on what was a rather underwhelming Colombian side. Much credit must go to Mina and Sanchez at the heart of Colombia's defense for making incredible last-ditch interceptions and having all round great games. That said the rest of the Colombian team were entirely unmemorable. For the majority of the game, they offered little going forward, so much so that the game lost its edge. There seemed to be a lack of danger to England. Woeful cross attempts from Colombia were easily defended by 3 self-assured center-backs. Though the South Americans remembered how to play football right at the end of the match, managing and equalizer, they should have been dispatched long before.

England's problems going forwards came from a lack of quality from their three most creative players. Ali seemed unfit and lacked the movement that marked previous good performances. Lingard and Sterling both lacked composure and good decision making in the final third with good opportunities to pick out Kane going begging. Many good moves were broken down with hospital passes and poor touches. Going into England's next game against Sweden I will hope that both Loftus-Cheek and Rashford get a look in for those starting spots. England needs to be clinical.

In spite of the lack of quality England did get a penalty due to yet more wrestling Harry Kane to the ground. I'm uncertain why national teams still think that this is a good idea. England need not complain as Kane kept his composure, in the face of Colombian antics designed to put him off, sending Ospina to the left while placing the ball down the middle. It was in taking the lead where a familiar England trait crept back into what has been a history-defying side. All of our forward going players appeared knackered from the 70th minute onwards. This is the ideal time to put on fresh attacking options which we do possess. With Colombia looking to attack England for the first time in the game we could simultaneously improve our threat on the counter and our ability to defend from the front with a press.

We had to keep our shape as it has proved well structured and the players well drilled in their positions. Instead, Southgate made a very English sort of sub in bringing on another defensive midfielder in Dier, forcing us to lose our shape. We became confused in defense and meandering in the attack. Worst of all a gap opened up between our defense and attack as legs became heavy. If Loftus-Cheek was brought on he would have been able to carry the ball out of England's defense and help us transition quickly into the attack while drawing fouls.

I do not mean to be overly critical of Gareth; he has converted me into one of his biggest fans from making very brave decisions and ultimately it was Dier that scored our final penalty so perhaps it was a masterstroke! But if England is leading against Sweden by a goal late on in the game then I implore Southgate to be brave. I'm not sure I can take penalties again.