England vs Colombia: A final four spot beckons for the victor
With Spain and Sweden having booked their respective places in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-finals after seeing off the Netherlands and Japan respectively, England and Colombia will be doing likewise when the two sides square off on Saturday, August 12th. The Lionesses have qualified for at least the quarter-finals in all six of their Women’s World Cup appearances, and are aiming to make it to their third consecutive semi-final after doing so in 2015 and 2019.
Sarina Wiegman’s team finally brought it home last year as England won the Women’s EURO 2022 competition. It marks the first success for England’s women’s side in any major international competition, and the first for both England’s women’s and men’s teams since the men’s team won the World Cup in 1966. With that achievement now completed, England are hoping to go one step further and add a World Cup trophy to their collection, but will first need to find a way to the semi-finals – and beyond.
It’s not been the easiest tournament for the Lionesses, who have had to make do without several key players, including Fran Kirby and Beth Mead, due to injuries. They were far from impressive in their tournament opener, requiring a re-taken penalty to take down Haiti, who, despite making their first ever World Cup appearance, proved to be a very stubborn opponent. However, a 1-0 win against Denmark on matchday two put England firmly in the driving seat as far as a round of 16 tie was concerned, while their 6-1 commanding victory over China ensured that Wiegman’s side finished top of their group and were paired against Group B’s runners-up, Nigeria, in the round of 16.
Although England were far from convincing in their match against Nigeria, with the Super Falcons arguably looking like the much better side for large spells of the game, the West African nation were unable to make their domination count. That’s despite having a player advantage for well over 30 minutes following Lauren James’s 87 minute dismissal as the match went to extra time. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s profligacy came back to haunt them, as England were able to hold them at bay to push the match to penalties, which ended as a 4-2 victory for the Lionesses.
Given that they had to play 30 extra minutes, fatigue may be a slight concern for England as they prepare to take on a Colombia side aiming to make history. The South American nation have been one of the tournament’s surprise packages and are looking to become the first from their confederation to make it to the semi-finals since Brazil did so back in 2007.
Colombia’s journey to this juncture has been truly something to behold. They started off their tournament with a win over South Korea, but it was their 2-1 victory against Germany on matchday two that had people buzzing. And despite losing 1-0 to Morocco on matchday three, they’d done enough to not just qualify for the round of 16, but to do as Group H’s winners, where they faced another surprise package, Jamaica, in the round of 16.
It was, as expected, a very tense battle, with neither side keen on giving way as they both sought to book a quarter-finals berth for the first time ever. Like Colombia, Jamaica have overcome great odds to get this far, as they were placed in a group alongside heavyweights France and Brazil. As such, no one really gave the Reggae Girlz much of a shot at even getting out of their group, but, seemingly against all odds, they did pip Brazil to second spot to head into the round of 16 for the first time in team history.
A solitary goal from Catalina Usme early in the second half ultimately helped to tip the tie in Colombia’s favor, and now, they will be hoping to take another huge step towards securing a spot in the final four. Unlike England, who will be unfortunately missing key striker Lauren James as the Chelsea ace is set to be banned for this match, Colombia will have a full strength squad available. It will be interesting to see what impact James’s absence has on England in this contest, as Colombia have shown that they are a team who clearly are not intimidated by any opponent, regardless of titles won or lack of.
Will England make it to a third consecutive semi-final, or perhaps beyond? Or will Colombia manage to knock out another footballing giant as they look to continue their historic World Cup journey?
