This World Cup has been a bit strange, having excluded some traditional powers, and seeing other traditional powerhouse teams exit surprisingly early. Who could have known that Italy, Germany, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal, for example, would all be out of the discussion before the quarterfinal round begins?
Yet, one team that has had a long history of disappointments seems to be reversing itself and exceeding expectations, at least thus far. England was supposed to be filled with young new faces, and the expectations that had weighed so heavily as to crush England's hopes in the past seemed not to be overly high for this team. Yet, they have played extremely well, having won three of their four games, and having just survived Colombia in order to advance to the quarterfinal round.
Are they a real threat to continue to advance?
That is difficult to say. But England looks poised and stronger than I remember seeing them look in a long, long time.
As for Sweden, they keep surprising. They won their group, which was something I would not have expected after seeing them suffer a crushing disappointment against Germany. Yet here they are, having just taken care of Switzerland, and now moving onto the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1994. It is quite the achievement.
So, how did those two teams survive to this point? Let's take a closer look at yesterday's games:
Sweden 1, Switzerland 0 - Emil Forsberg scored in the 66th minute to put Sweden up, 1-0.
Switzerland's Michael Lang received a red card in the fourth minute of extra time, although that hardly seems like a huge concern now for Switzerland, since their World Cup is done for this year.
The win for Sweden means that they advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1994. It also is the first time that Sweden has won back to back games outright in the World Cup (not counting penalty kick shoot-outs, in other words) since way back in 1958 the year that Sweden hosted the tournament, and the only time that Sweden qualified for the final match (although they lost).
This defeat for Switzerland assures that the Swiss still have never son an elimination game in their World Cup history, a statistic that, frankly, seems a bit shocking. They have now lost in the round of sixteen each of the last four times that they have qualified for it.
England 1, Colmbia 1 (England wins on penalty kick shoot-out, 4-3):
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half, as the game seemed more or less to be a defensive stalemate. Still, tempers were running high, and these teams seemed to be taking incredible chances with fouls and unnecessary displays of unsportsmanlike conduct, a term usually more applicable in North American sports. But there were some stupid moments with players from both side betraying a lack of composure.
The second half, however, was different. There were still strange incidents between the two sides, but there were also some moments of inspired play, where the game finally took precedent over the emotions on the field.
Harry Kane finally broke through after a ridiculous foul where he essentially got mugged during a corner kick. He coolly converting a penalty kick in the 57th minute to give England a 1-0 lead.
It was a lead that they kept until extra time, and it seemed like they would go on to win, 1-0.
But Colombia kept pressing and, shockingly, managed to get a late opportunity on a corner kick deep into extra time. Yerry Mina managed to find the back of the net in the third minute of extra time, and the stadium suddenly came alive, as Colombian fans suddenly found their lungs with the exciting end to regulation time.
Suddenly, Colombia had staved off elimination and forced a tie at the end of regulation. They were still alive, and for the team and their fans, that was all that mattered for now.
Neither team was able to get a goal in extra time, however, it went to a penalty kick shoot-out. This traditionally is bad news for England, as they have historically fared very poorly in them, having won only once in this situation, beating Spain in the 1996 Euro tournament in a shoot-out. That was the only time that they managed to win one of these things...until today.
It looked like Colombia would win when Jordan Henderson missed on England's third penalty kick, which was the first miss of the shoot-out. Colombia had a 3-2 lead by that point, and Colombian fans were loud in expressing their optimism.
That did not last long, as Mateus Uribe missed the very next shot.
England's Kieran Trippier converted the next shot, and suddenly it was Colombia facing adversity, absolutely needing to convert just to stay in control of their own destiny. But Carlos Bacca missed his shot, and England had a chance to win and advance by converting. This Eric Dier did, and England clinched the win, and now prepare for the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2006, while a disappointed Colombia side go home.
For Colombia, this is the third time that they lost in their four elimination round matches in their World Cup history.
Yet, one team that has had a long history of disappointments seems to be reversing itself and exceeding expectations, at least thus far. England was supposed to be filled with young new faces, and the expectations that had weighed so heavily as to crush England's hopes in the past seemed not to be overly high for this team. Yet, they have played extremely well, having won three of their four games, and having just survived Colombia in order to advance to the quarterfinal round.
Are they a real threat to continue to advance?
That is difficult to say. But England looks poised and stronger than I remember seeing them look in a long, long time.
As for Sweden, they keep surprising. They won their group, which was something I would not have expected after seeing them suffer a crushing disappointment against Germany. Yet here they are, having just taken care of Switzerland, and now moving onto the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1994. It is quite the achievement.
So, how did those two teams survive to this point? Let's take a closer look at yesterday's games:
Sweden 1, Switzerland 0 - Emil Forsberg scored in the 66th minute to put Sweden up, 1-0.
Switzerland's Michael Lang received a red card in the fourth minute of extra time, although that hardly seems like a huge concern now for Switzerland, since their World Cup is done for this year.
The win for Sweden means that they advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1994. It also is the first time that Sweden has won back to back games outright in the World Cup (not counting penalty kick shoot-outs, in other words) since way back in 1958 the year that Sweden hosted the tournament, and the only time that Sweden qualified for the final match (although they lost).
This defeat for Switzerland assures that the Swiss still have never son an elimination game in their World Cup history, a statistic that, frankly, seems a bit shocking. They have now lost in the round of sixteen each of the last four times that they have qualified for it.
England 1, Colmbia 1 (England wins on penalty kick shoot-out, 4-3):
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half, as the game seemed more or less to be a defensive stalemate. Still, tempers were running high, and these teams seemed to be taking incredible chances with fouls and unnecessary displays of unsportsmanlike conduct, a term usually more applicable in North American sports. But there were some stupid moments with players from both side betraying a lack of composure.
The second half, however, was different. There were still strange incidents between the two sides, but there were also some moments of inspired play, where the game finally took precedent over the emotions on the field.
Harry Kane finally broke through after a ridiculous foul where he essentially got mugged during a corner kick. He coolly converting a penalty kick in the 57th minute to give England a 1-0 lead.
It was a lead that they kept until extra time, and it seemed like they would go on to win, 1-0.
But Colombia kept pressing and, shockingly, managed to get a late opportunity on a corner kick deep into extra time. Yerry Mina managed to find the back of the net in the third minute of extra time, and the stadium suddenly came alive, as Colombian fans suddenly found their lungs with the exciting end to regulation time.
Suddenly, Colombia had staved off elimination and forced a tie at the end of regulation. They were still alive, and for the team and their fans, that was all that mattered for now.
Neither team was able to get a goal in extra time, however, it went to a penalty kick shoot-out. This traditionally is bad news for England, as they have historically fared very poorly in them, having won only once in this situation, beating Spain in the 1996 Euro tournament in a shoot-out. That was the only time that they managed to win one of these things...until today.
It looked like Colombia would win when Jordan Henderson missed on England's third penalty kick, which was the first miss of the shoot-out. Colombia had a 3-2 lead by that point, and Colombian fans were loud in expressing their optimism.
That did not last long, as Mateus Uribe missed the very next shot.
England's Kieran Trippier converted the next shot, and suddenly it was Colombia facing adversity, absolutely needing to convert just to stay in control of their own destiny. But Carlos Bacca missed his shot, and England had a chance to win and advance by converting. This Eric Dier did, and England clinched the win, and now prepare for the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2006, while a disappointed Colombia side go home.
For Colombia, this is the third time that they lost in their four elimination round matches in their World Cup history.
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