England will eye for a spot in the last four as they take on spirited Colombia in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup 2023.
ENG-W vs COL-W Match Details
Date: Saturday, 12 August 2023
Time: 16:00 (IST), 17:00 (ACT)
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
ENG-W vs COL-W Match Preview
England had a hard time against Nigeria in the last-16 stage as they fail to repeat their emphatic performance against China in the group stages. The Super Falcons struck the crossbar three times in the game giving the Lionesses' defence worrying moments. Nigeria’s number one Chiamaka Nnadozie also made sure to keep her team in the game that went into extra time. Before that Lauren James was shown a straight red card upon VAR review for a stamp on Michelle Alozie but England managed to draw the penalties. The Euro winners won it 4-2 in the shootout with Chloe Kelly stepping up with the winner once again. Despite making it into the quarterfinals for the sixth time, Sarina Wiegman’s team will be concerned about facing a team like Colombia at the stage who are a solid outfit like Nigeria and can pick their pockets.
Without the suspended James and tournament absentees like Beth Mead or Fran Kirby, England could be starved of creativity again even though Ella Toone is restored to the starting eleven. The Lionesses have also failed to win their last three knockout games in the competition having lost just once in previous seven. However, the team have not suffered defeat in any competitive game under their Dutch boss so far. They have also made it to the semi-finals in the last two editions. So, it will be a major shock if they fail to find an opening against the South Americans.
Meanwhile, Colombia will hope they could witness at least one memorable night in their fairytale tournament having defeated South Korea and Germany earlier to clinch the top place in their group. While their 1-0 loss to newcomers Morocco in the final group match raised some eyebrows, edging out Jamaica in the last-16 with a splendid finish by Catalina Usme relaxed the nerves again. Las Chicas advanced to their first quarterfinals in their Women’s World Cup history through that strike.
They now want to be only the second nation from CONMEBOL after Brazil to reach the last four in the tournament. For that, Colombia probably have to face the toughest test in the competition so far against England in the quarterfinals. The last appearance in the semis for any team from that region happened back in 2007 so this will be quite a history if Nelson Abadia make it that far.
Recent Form (Women’s World Cup)
ENG-W: DWWW
COL-W: WLWW
ENG-W vs COL-W Team News
Lauren James’ stamp on Nigeria Michelle Alozie earned her a two-match suspension from FIFA so manager Sarina Wiegman is forced to replace the best creator for England in this tournament. In that case, Ella Toone could earn back her starting role which the Manchester United player lost after the switch in formation. The rest of the eleven should remain intact with Keira Walsh beginning in midfield having made her return from injury in the last-16 game.
Ana María Guzmán provided a sensational assist on her Women’s World Cup debut for Usme’s goal. However, the return of Manuela Vanegas from suspension will resort the 18-year-old left-back back to the bench. Other than that, there will be no changes from the victory against Jamaica.
ENG-W vs COL-W Predicted Lineups
ENG-W: Earps; Carter, Bright, Greenwood; Bronze, Stanway, Walsh, Daly; Toone; Russo, Hemp
COL-W: Perez; C. Arias, Carabali, D. Arias, Vanegas; Santos, Ospina, Bedoya; Ramirez, Caicedo, Usme
ENG-W vs COL-W Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: C Perez (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 175)
DEF: Greenwood (Cr - 9, Pts - 263), Bright (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 172), Vanegas (Cr - 9, Pts - 192)
MID: Usme (Cr - 9, Pts - 206), Stanway (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 163), Santos (Cr - 8, Pts - 124), Daly (Cr - 7.5, Pts - 187)
FW: Kelly (Cr - 8, Pts - 132), Russo (Cr - 9, Pts - 122), Caicedo (Cr - 8.5, Pts - 160)
Vice-captain: Alessia Russo
Captain: Catalina Usme
