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England beats Colombia in PKs (Yes, in PKs)

By Nicholas MendolaJul 3, 2018, 4:55 PM EDT
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England denied its World Cup penalty kick demons on Tuesday as the Three Lions booked the final spot in the World Cup quarterfinals with a 4-3 defeat of Colombia after 120 minutes of 1-1 in Moscow.

Harry Kane and Yerry Mina traded goals in regulation, with Mina’s coming well into second half stoppage time.

Colombia was playing without star playmaker James Rodriguez.

KICKS
COL – Radamel Falcao scores
ENG – Kane scores
COL – Juan Cuadrado scores
ENG – Marcus Rashford scores
COL – Luis Muriel scores
ENG – Jordan Henderson saved by David Ospina
COL – Manuel Uribe hits the cross bar
ENG – Kieran Trippier scores
COL – Carlos Bacca saved by Jordan Pickford
ENG – Eric Dier scores

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There were few terrific chances in the first half, with the half focused on fouls and skullduggery.

And with apologies to a Harry Maguire header, the moment of the half was an incident between Colombia’s Wilmar Barrios and England’s Jordan Henderson.

Barrios made head-first contact with Henderson’s chest and head, and Henderson made sure everyone knew it. England supporters wanted a red card, but American referee Mark Geiger only showed yellow after VAR review.

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Kane won and converted a penalty kick shortly after the break, as Carlos Sanchez had his second awful moment of the tournament.

The half devolved even more afterward, and the 70th minute saw the match with one yellow for every 10 minutes of play (five for Colombia).

And Kyle Walker nearly gave the game back to Los Cafeteros, but Juan Cuadrado knifed his effort wide of the goal.

Mateus Uribe forced Jordan Pickford into an outstanding save in the third minute of stoppage, earning Colombia a corner kick. Mina headed home and it was 1-1.

The first 15 minutes of extra time belonged to Colombia, but England saw a few chances in the second stanza. Jordan Henderson sent Danny Rose on goal, but the Spurs man dragged his 112th minute shot just wide of the far post.

Bracket, schedule for 2018 World Cup quarterfinals onward

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
By Nicholas MendolaJul 3, 2018, 5:39 PM EDT
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Do we really need to take two days away from this tournament?!?

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The Russian World Cup is turning out to be a beauty, with more studs than duds on the docket.

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Whether the tournament can keep that up is another story.

The most provocative fixture on the schedule sees Brazil take on Belgium in France, as the Red Devils hope to be the nation that finds a way to break down a terrific Brazilian attack.

Meanwhile, Uruguay will hope to keep up its steady defense in the face of French pressure, while England and Sweden square off for the right to face the winner of hosts Russia versus dark horse darlings Croatia.

QUARTERFINALS

Friday: Uruguay v France – Nizhny Novgorod 10 a.m. ET (Match 57)
Friday: Brazil v Belgium – Kazan 2 p.m. ET (Match 58)
Saturday: Sweden v England – Samara 10 a.m. ET (Match 60)
Saturday: Russia v Croatia – Sochi 2 p.m. ET (Match 59)

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, July 10: Winner match 57 v winner match 58 – St Petersburg 2 p.m.
Wednesday, July 11: Winner match 59 v winner match 60 – Moscow (Luzhniki) 2 p.m.

THIRD-PLACE MATCH

Saturday, July 14: St Petersburg 10 a.m.

FINAL

Sunday, July 15: Moscow (Luzhniki) 11 a.m.

England PK heroes Dier, Pickford react to win

AP Photo/Antonio Calanni
By Nicholas MendolaJul 3, 2018, 5:18 PM EDT
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With all the eyes in England watching him, Eric Dier scored the decisive penalty kick to send the Three Lions to the World Cup quarterfinals.

[ RECAP: England 1-1 (4-3 PKs) Colombia ]

A non-descript match in terms of attack for most of the game — there were plenty of fouls — a Harry Kane penalty kick was the only goal until Colombia struck via a Yerry Mina header in second half stoppage time.

At that point, England predictably was rattled but battled to survive extra time and reach its old nemesis: penalty kicks. After Jordan Henderson was saved by David Ospina and Manuel Uribe hit the cross bar, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved Carlos Bacca’s effort to set the stage for Dier.

He didn’t miss.

“To get knocked down like we did is difficult to come back from it,” Dier said, according to the BBC. “We knew what we had to do and we stayed calm. We never panicked. We were ready for that.”

Here are more of his thoughts, as aired on FOX:

“It was a nervous one. I’ve never really been in a situation like that before but I felt like I had to score after missing the header I missed at the end there so I’m just thankful I scored that one.

“(Jordan Pickford) is a fantastic goalkeeper, has a fantastic attitude, and deserves everything. He’s been brilliant in training and taken it into the game.”

And here’s Pickford:

“I did all my research on them for starters. We had a fair feeling. Falcao’s the only one who really didn’t go his way. I’ve got power and agility. I don’t care if I’m not the biggest keeper but I’ve got that power and agility around the goal. It’s about being there in the moment and making the save and I was.”

The buzz after the match is that England has exorcised its penalty kick demons, having lost its first three World Cup penalty shootouts. If the Three Lions don’t win it all — and the bracket is clear for a run at it — at least perhaps that will be the enduring memory of the tournament.

CONCACAF boss targets 2026 World Cup for better results

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Associated PressJul 3, 2018, 4:22 PM EDT
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MOSCOW (AP) The head of North American soccer says the region’s teams need until 2026 at a home World Cup to reach their full potential.

Mexico’s traditional round of 16 loss this week left the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF) without the quarterfinals place it got four years ago from Costa Rica.

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“All in all, I think it’s par for the course,” CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said Tuesday of the region’s performance in Russia.

With just three teams at this World Cup compared to four in 2014, Costa Rica was last in a tough group and newcomer Panama lost all three games.

“I think you will see an improvement in four years,” Montagliani told The Associated Press in an interview, though suggesting “eight years is more realistic.”

Elected to lead CONCACAF in 2016, the Canadian official acknowledged the soccer body had too often let down its 35 FIFA member nations.

“Quite frankly, over the last 40 years CONCACAF as a confederation has not really done much to help the federations try to compete at a world level,” Montagliani said of an era tainted by corruption, and leaders indicted by the U.S. Justice Department.

Now moved from Manhattan to Miami, CONCACAF has reformed its business practices and revamped competitions for national and club teams.

A Nations League kicks off next year, designed to raise competitive standards by giving smaller national teams more fixtures and revenue in a two-year cycle.

Four places were added to the marquee Gold Cup, which the United States will host next year with 16 teams.

“Then we will see what we look like eight years from now when we host a World Cup in our backyard,” Montagliani said.

Though Mexico beat Germany 1-0 in a stunning group-stage opener in Moscow, CONCACAF had a bigger win in the Russian capital. Five days earlier, FIFA members picked the joint United States-Canada-Mexico bid over Morocco to host the 2026 tournament.

That 48-team edition will give CONCACAF six guaranteed places – likely with automatic entry for all three hosts – plus two more chances in an intercontinental playoff round in November 2025. Two of six teams will advance, with Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America all sending one entry.

In Russia, CONCACAF was understrength after Honduras lost its intercontinental playoff last November, going down 3-1 in Australia after drawing 0-0 in the home leg.

“It’s really important we get a fourth team (in 2022),” Montagliani said. “I think this year it was disappointing Honduras didn’t take advantage of their home field advantage.”

Four years ago, Mexico grabbed a fourth place for the region when it surprisingly fell into the playoffs as Honduras advanced directly with the U.S. and Costa Rica.

This time, the U.S. slumped in the final qualifying group, letting in Panama which was overmatched in Russia.

“Like most debutants they saw how tough it is at this level,” Montagliani said. “The team that probably should have qualified four years ago was here this year and a little bit old in the tooth. You’re going to see a different Panama now in the next four years.”

So too will CONCACAF on and off the field, the FIFA vice president insisted.

“Our confederation will look differently by the time we get to ’22 and definitely look different by the time we host in ’26.”

—

More AP World Cup coverage: http://www.apnews.com/tag/WorldCup

VIDEO: Mina’s stoppage time header forces England-Colombia to extra time

AP Photo/Alastair Grant
By Nicholas MendolaJul 3, 2018, 4:12 PM EDT
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Manuel Uribe’s speculative shot led to an outstanding Jordan Pickford save, the likes of which seemed to salt away England’s spot in the World Cup quarterfinals if the Three Lions could just deal with one stoppage time corner.

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Narrator voice: They couldn’t.

Barcelona center back Yerry Mina pounded a header off the ground that Kieran Trippier could only partially block, and Colombia used one of its precious few chances on Tuesday in Moscow to send the match to extra time.