FOOTBALL – The last of the quarter finals have taken place. The Lionesses were in action as it was England v Colombia. The two teams had to battle it out for a place in the semi-finals.
Three teams had already progressed to the semi-finals of the FIFA Women´s World Cup. After a dramatic penalty shoot out, Australia joined Spain and Sweden.
England v Colombia
This was the second meeting ever between these two sides. The time before was also in the FIFA World Cup competition back in 2015 when the Lionesses won 2-1.
Earps made some early saves for England in the opening minutes, but nothing that was too troubling. But then Hemp and Russo of England both had good shots blocked by the Colombian defence. The flag had gone up in anycase. A few minutes later another chance for Russo as her close range header was saved.
Mid-way through the first half, the Lionesses began to dominate, and another chance at goal came. A corner from Greenwood went all the way over to Stanway on the far side who passed it to an unmarked Daly. But Daly´s header went straight to the keeper.
Then just before the 40-minute mark, a chance came for Colombia. Caicedo broke through the English defence, however Earps was there. But then the first goal of the match came 44 minutes into play. And it came for Santos of Colombia!
It all changed in the dying seconds of stoppage time when Russo aimed at goal, the keeper lost her grasp on the ball, and Hemp was right there to put the ball in the net. It was half-time and it was level at 1-1.
Second half
The first 15 minutes in and England had a very slight edge over Colombia, but it was still anyonés game. That was until Russo received a brilliant pass from Stanway. Russo finished it off by putting it in the bottom corner of the net. It was 2-1 for the Lionesses. Then just over 10 minutes later, 2 chances came for Bedoya. The first was saved by Earps, but prompted a corner, with Bedova again getting to the ball. But it went just over the net. As the clock ticked on, Colombia increased the pressure on the English side. Eight minutes were added for stoppage time. England were just trying to hold on to their lead. Meanwhile Colombia were doing everything possible to take the game to extra time. But the game finished, and England were through to the semi-finals.