WWC: England face tough game to edge out Colombia in q-final

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If the Lionesses of England are to reach the Women’s World Cup final and secure back-to-back trophies, they must crush Colombia in a quarter-final match.

Sarina Wiegman’s side have battled their way into this round, but performances have been less than convincing for the most part.

Instead, mere determination from the squad has propelled them through the tournament as the Lionesses have continued to grind out wins and keep their dream of a first World Cup alive.

The side finds themselves heading into the quarter-final without tournament standout Lauren James, who received two-game ban for treading on Nigerian defender, Michelle Alozie.

England narrowly eked out a Round of 16 penalty shoot-out win against Nigeria, while Columbia beat Jamaica 1-0 to secure their places in the quarter-finals.

The Lionesses are unbeaten at the tournament thus far, but the South American side could potentially be their toughest challenge yet.

After beating South Korea in their opening game, Colombia shocked the world as they beat Germany, the world’s second-ranked side, in a competitive 2-1 fixture.

And a 1-0 defeat in their final group game to Morocco wasn’t enough to knock them off the top spot in Group H.

At 25th, the South Americans are the lowest placed of the quarter-finalists in FIFA’s rankings, but having already helped see off one of the pre-tournament favourites Germany in the group stage, they cannot be underestimated.