As a nation that truly loves football, we watch with bated breath as England progresses through the Women’s World Cup tournament in Australia and New Zealand. After a ridiculously tense game against Nigeria yesterday (Monday 7 August), we look forward to hopefully a slightly smoother ride going forward, and we now know that England will face Colombia this Saturday ( August 12) in the quarter finals of the Women’s World Cup, after beating Jamaica 1-0 in a cutthroat game.
The Lionesses will surely be looking out for Colombia’s Catalina Usme who scored in the 51st minute of today’s game against Jamaica. The 33-year-old América de Cali forward brings a whole load of experience to the team, having scored her first international goal against Chile in 2010, giving England’s most senior Laura Coombs a run for her money at 32.
Colombia previously caused one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, beating Germany 2-1 in the group stage, getting on the scoresheet first when teen sensation Linda Caicedo scored a stunning goal in the 52nd minute. Manuela Vanegas then scored off a corner in the 97th minute to clinch the surprise victory, so the likes of England’s Millie Bright and Jess Carter will have a lot to defend against, never mind superstar goalkeeper Mary Earps.
We won’t be forgetting the Nigeria game in a hurry, complete with extra time, penalties, and a red card for Lauren James, putting England down to ten women for a good 40 minutes, as well as for the shoot-out. Hopefully, though, the Lionesses will continue to show their quality and class, starting with the Colombia game this Saturday.
We hope penalty scorers Chloe Kelly, Beth England, Rachel Daly and Alex Greenwood will see some airtime on Saturday, whether they start or not, alongside star players such as Alessia Russo and perhaps an appearance from Ella Toone, who scored the opening goal in the Euro 2022 Final, which the Lionesses went on to win.
Whatever happens, we’ll all be watching the Women’s World Cup this Saturday as England play Colombia, with the convenient kick-off time of 11:30am. You can find places to watch the game in Manchester here, or watch from the comfort of your living room.