Colombia – England

It’s time for our winning soccer predictions again. This time we are going to take a look at the World Cup 2018 1/8-final game between Colombia and England. This match is going to be played at the Otkrytiye Arena in the capital Moscow.

Colombia will try to replicate their performance from the World Cup in Brazil four years ago, when they reached the 1/4-finals of the competition. Los Cafeteros had a foul start of their participation at the World Cup, when an early red card against Japan made them lose their first game in Russia. But they showed a fighting spirit in their next two matches, managing to regroup and win against Poland and Senegal, keeping two clean sheets in the process.

So far Colombia are not playing an attractive football really, but they are pretty effective in what they do. When playing with 11 men on the pitch, the South Americans are keeping clean sheets and scoring goals. Their best goalscorer so far is the central defender Yerri Mina, who has scored two goals since the start of the tournament. The FC Barcelona defender was critisized for the way he performed for the Catalans, but so far he’s pretty much brilliant at the World Cup. England have to be very careful with Mina, when he’s approaching the penalty area.

England finished second in their group. They started with two consecutive wins against Tunisia and Panama, which qualified them for the 1/8-finals. In their third match they suffered a 0-1 defeat against Belgium, with both managers putting their “B” teams on the pitch. It’s curious that most of the English fans actually wanted England to lose this game, because it guaranteed an easier route to the final.

When the manager Gareth Southgate announced his team for the World Cup, we saw him picking an young and talented squad. So far his decision seems to be correct. England are playing with a lot of hunger and desire, scoring 8 goals in their first two matches in Russia. In the country there are a lot of people who feel that this team is special and ready for something more at the World Cup. They still wait for a first triumph at the World Cup since 1966.

Colombia’s head coach Jose Pekerman have to deal with the injuries of two important figures – James Rodriguez and Abel Aguilar. If James miss this game, it’s going to be a huge hit for Los Cafeteros. The Bayern Munich star is one of the most important figures in the team, so Colombia are going to need him against the Three Lions. Now it all depends on how serious his condition is. Most likely James will start off the bench and only Jose Pekerman will know if he can use him.

How we already said, Gareth Southgate had the chance to rest his main team against Belgium. This allowed his key players to avoid any injuries or suspensions. Unlike Pekerman, Southgate can use his best players for this game. And you can be sure that he’s going to do it. Is the English team really strong enough to do something big in Russia? This game shall give us some answers to this question.

These are our winning soccer predictions for the World Cup 1/8-final clash between Colombia and England in Moscow. Los Cafeteros and the Three Lions are both hungry for success, so neither one will want to step back. England are a slight favourite in this game, according to the pundits, but Colombia are not a team that likes to give up.