England end penalty jinx to edge Colombia in shootout to book place in last eight

Sport360 staff 10:52 04/07/2018

Jordan Pickford helped England end their penalty shootout hoodoo and reach the World Cup quarter-finals at the expense of Colombia in Moscow.

After decades stewing on his Euro 96 semi-final miss against Germany, Gareth Southgate has spent recent months trying to improve their chances in Russia if it went all the way.

Things looked set to go pear-shaped when Jordan Henderson’s penalty was saved, only for Mateus Uribe’s spot-kick to rattle the bar and goalkeeper Pickford to deny Carlos Bacca.

Eric Dier kept his composure in the Spartak Stadium cauldron, propelling the Three Lions to a famous 4-3 shootout win after it ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time.

Sweden now await in a mouth-watering Samara quarter-final on Saturday, which England approach buoyed by a display of character and coolness which belied this group’s tender years.

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