'I'll be shocked if England don't reach last four'
Tuesday 3 July 2018 18:43, UK
England are gearing up for a crunch last-16 clash with Colombia, but how far will they go in this World Cup?
A path to potential glory has opened up for Gareth Southgate's men with Brazil, France and Belgium in the other half of the draw and lower-ranked Switzerland or Sweden to come in the quarter-finals should England triumph on Tuesday.
But how far do the Soccer Saturday pundits think the Three Lions can go? Here are their verdicts...
I've always said we've had a chance but at the moment I can't see past Brazil. However, if we don't reach the semi-finals from here you'd have to class it as disappointing. If we don't get to the last four I'd be shocked.
At the start of the tournament we were saying that if we'd get past the quarter-finals it'd be great but if we don't get to a semi-final now it won't have been a very good tournament. The route we've got now is Colombia, who have been poor, with James Rodriguez limping out of the Senegal game. Then it's Sweden or Switzerland. No disrespect to the two countries but if you can't beat them you are not winning World Cups.
Fair play to Gareth with what he did against Belgium. He had to rest everyone because it's been a long Premier League season. Everything's worked out perfectly.
My prediction for how far England can go hasn't changed. I really think they needed to beat Belgium to prove to themselves that they can win when they are up against the big teams.
I know it was basically two reserve teams playing against each other but defeats can have an impact. It is okay to say that the big guns are coming back but Colombia are a dangerous side.
Even with the prospect of beating Colombia and getting Sweden or Switzerland in the quarter-finals, I haven't actually seen anything from England that convinces me that they're going to go all the way. Even if they meet Sweden or Switzerland in the last eight, it's still going to be a very difficult match. As things stand I still see England exiting at the quarter-final stage but for now, all that matters is the next game.
I believe we should now go on to reach the semi-finals, but my concern is that there might be a relaxation in the mindset that it is an easier route and we don't have to try. I think Colombia could be more difficult than the quarter-final, so they need to be focused.
I'm guessing it would be Croatia would come through against Russia, but we shouldn't take their win over Spain lightly, with a very good defensive performance. There would be some nice satisfaction of knocking the hosts out, but I'm not getting ahead of myself.
I still think it is really wide open. Nobody has been really convincing. We say it all really kicks off at the knockout stages so I'm going to stick with my pre-tournament prediction of France.
However, England have an exceptional chance if they can overcome Colombia, which won't be an easy task. No knockout match at a World Cup is but we should be looking at the semi-finals now.
