Colombia & England to battle for quarter-final spot

epa06835806 Raheem Sterling of England (L) and Fidel Escobar of Panama in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group G preliminary round soccer match between England and Panama in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 24 June 2018.

by Scent ition

Tuesday Jul 03, 2018. 13:30

Colombia will lock horns with England in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 game at the Spartak Stadium in Russia on Tuesday.

Kick-off is at 20h00 CAT.

The Coffee Growers progressed into the Round of 16 after winning Group H ahead of runners-up Japan, who had defeated Colombia.

Colombia are making their second successive appearance in the Round of 16 having reached this stage in the previous tournament which was hosted by Brazil in 2014.

The South American side have never won the World Cup and their best performance in the competition came in 2014 when they reached the quarter-finals for the first time.

James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado are the Coffee Growers' dangermen and they will look to play an important role in helping their nation win.

Meanwhile, Engalnd reached this stage of the tournament after finishing second in Group G behind Belgium, who defeated the Three Lions.

The Three Lions are keen to progress into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2006. They were knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2010, before failing to advance beyond the group stage in 2014.

The European giants are hoping to go all the way and clinch their second World Cup trophy. They won the global tournament in 1966 as tournament hosts.

Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane are influential players for the Three Lions and they have the ability to inspire their team to victory against Colombia.

In head-to-head stats according to the FIFA.com, Colombia and England have locked horns five times.

The Three Lions have recorded three wins against the Coffee Growers, while two games ended in a draw.

Senegalese match referee Malang Diedhiou will be in charge of the game between Colombia and England.