England put an end to Colombia’s odyssey in the women’s World Cup and qualified for the semifinals on Saturday with a 2-1 victory.
With their victory in a very physical match, the English will have to face the locals Australia next Wednesday, in Sydney.
In the other semifinal series, Spain will face Sweden in Auckland on Tuesday.
Leicy Santos made the coffee makers dream by opening the scoring at minute 44 with a shot from the edge of the area that caught English goalkeeper Mary Earps misplaced.
England equalized soon after through Lauren Hemp after a mistake by goalkeeper Catalina Pérez, who released a ball in the six-yard box.
The “Lionesses” went back to 63 with a shot from Alessia Russo who took advantage of a leaked ball between the Colombian defense.
Colombia, which paid dearly for its defensive errors, was the last representative of America in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after the fall of giants like Brazil, the United States and Canada.
The match was played at the Stadium Australia in Sydney packed with a majority of Colombian supporters who chanted “yes we can” to encourage the coffee makers when they already had the score against them.
Early in the game, Colombia lost Carolina Arias, a bastion in their defense, due to an injury, and was replaced by the youthful Ana María Guzmán.
Hard game
It was a warning of the rudeness with which two teams would dispute each ball, although it did not prevent the flashes of magic from Linda Caicedo, who showed off some ballet steps amid the severe surveillance that the English defense subjected her to.
In the second half, goalkeeper Catalina Pérez was injured, replaced by Natalia Giraldo.
The “Lionesses” seemed to be more comfortable in the shock game thanks to the bulk of their Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo in attack, and Millie Bright in defense.
But the “Powerpuff Girls” of Colombia joined the game as Guzmán established himself on the right back, in agreement with the attacker Mayra Ramírez, while Leicy Santos played his creative game.
England modified their attack scheme in the second half, betting on entering through the center instead of the wings, as in the first half, which gave them some territorial control.
It was thus that the English goal fell that defined their victory and their pass to the semifinals.
Colombia overcame England in the final minutes of the game in an unsuccessful effort to seek parity on the scoreboard.
For the South Americans it meant the end of a dream participation in the World Cup, in which they beat the powerhouse Germany and got the first pass to the quarterfinals in their history.
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