EXCITEMENT reached fever pitch in York last night as fans gathered to watch England’s match against Colombia.
Spark: York on Piccadilly was jam-packed with supporters for the tense round-of-16 match at the Spartak stadium in Moscow.
Before the match, Adam James, from York was “slightly more pessimistic” than his pals.
He said: “Obviously, as an England fan, I have to say England will win, but I think it’s going to be a battle.”
And, despite England having most of the chances, he was proved right.
A second-half Harry Kane penalty put England in the lead, but the score was 1-1 after Yerry Mina equalized in stoppage time.
It was still 1-1 after extra time, taking the match to penalties.
Adam said: “I was right. I didn’t want to be right, but I was.”
“It wasn’t quite the battle I expected as it was quite one-sided. The result so far is a bit unfair.”
However, England took its first-ever penalty shoot-out win at a World Cup, with scores from Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier, making it 4-3.
Star striker Kane, a leading contender for the Golden Boot, was back in the squad after sitting out the Belgium game and Deli Alli also returned having missed the last two matches with an injury.
Meanwhile, Colombia’s star forward, James Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot in 2014, was out after picking up a calf injury during their match against Senegal last Thursday.
TEAM ENGLAND🏴Well done ✅ for winning 4:3!For my followers U May have wondered why there were no Tweets after the Second Half still 1:1! Reflecting me had to go into my Chapel to keep Calm and keep thought for our youngest players!I’m very proud
— John Sentamu (@JohnSentamu) July 3, 2018
Gareth Southgate’s side will now meet Sweden - who beat Switzerland 1-0 this afternoon - in the quarter finals.
Sweden have reached the last eight for the first time since 1994, while England were last in the quarters in 2006.
That match is due to take place at the Samara stadium on Saturday, July 7 at 3pm.
A win for England would set up a meeting with either Russia or Croatia in the semi-finals.
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