Mohammadi News Agency News – Features – Photo
MNA Sports Desk: England held their nerve against Colombia to win their first ever penalty shootout in a World Cup and reach the quarter-finals in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, reported news agency.
Eric Dier scored the decisive spot-kick to win the shootout 4-3 and send Gareth Southgate’s young team through to a meeting with Sweden, who earlier beat Switzerland.
A bad-tempered match at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium that featured eight yellow cards—six for Colombian players—ended 1-1 after 30 tense minutes of extra-time, meaning the game had to be decided by penalties.
The South American side, without injured forward James Rodriguez, appeared on the edge of reaching their second consecutive World Cup quarter-final when Jordan Henderson’s effort was saved by Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, keeping the score at 3-2.
But Mateus Uribe then rattled the crossbar and after Kieran Trippier levelled at 3-3, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved from Carlos Bacca, extending his left arm to stop the ball as he dived to his right.
That gave England match point and Eric Dier made no mistake, beating the despairing dive of Ospina before he was mobbed by his teammates.
It is the first time England have won a shootout at a World Cup—and comes after six failures in seven attempts at major tournaments before Russia.
