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MOSCOW. – Well, it’s already been better than the last World Cup for England. Gareth Southgate has breathed new life into this team and got the whole nation behind them.

Having lost to Belgium in their final group game, the Three Lions, who take on Colombia at 8pm tonight, earned an excellent runner-up prize in a favourable run to the final.

There are no World Cup seeds on England’s side of the pyramid and if they can win this game, they should have a relatively simple quarter-final fixture. England face a real test in Colombia though, who haven’t looked overly impressive so far but definitely have the talent to hurt this England team.

The Three Lions defence hasn’t kept a clean sheet yet this tournament and they face a talented front four, three of which won their respective leagues this season. The other is Colombia’s all-time top scorer Radamel Falcao, who will be eager to show England fans what he’s capable of after a less than spectacular venture to the Premier League. It has the makings of a great game and one that England will be eager to start strongly to give themselves the best chance of victory.

Opinions were divided over preparations for the Belgium game as Southgate opted to rest his players. With nine changes from the team that started this tournament against Tunisia, England were bested by an also heavily rotated Belgium. It gave star men like Harry Kane the extra breather which will hopefully pay dividends against Colombia. The concern is that the result has derailed England’s momentum somewhat going into the all-important knockout rounds, but only time will tell if Southgate’s gamble will pay off. – AFP.