England kept their Women's World Cup hopes alive by beating Nigeria on penalties in the last 16 on Monday and their reward for that win is a quarter-final clash with overachievers Colombia in Sydney.
England to win to nil @ 10/11
Under 1.5 goals @ 6/4
Rachel Daly to score at anytime @ 11/5
Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.
England seemed to have their mojo back after a 6-1 thrashing of China in their final group game at the Women's World Cup, but they were again frustrated in their first knockout contest against Nigeria.
Sarina Wiegman's side managed just four shots on target in 120 minutes against the African nation and the discontent of the Lionesses was epitomised by Lauren James's sending off for stamping on Michelle Alozie.
They got over the line in the end, prevailing 4-2 on penalties, and will be hoping for more attacking impetus when they face a Colombia team who have beaten South Korea, Germany and Jamaica in this tournament so far.
What | England Women v Colombia Women |
Where | Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia |
When | 11.30am, Saturday 12th August 2023 |
How to watch | ITV1 |
Odds | England Women 1/2, Draw 13/5, Colombia Women 6/1 |
With the exception of the China thrashing, England have looked a little short of ideas going forward at this Women's World Cup and have consequently had to rely on defensive stability to progress.
They won each of their opening two matches against Haiti and Denmark by 1-0 scorelines and again kept the back door shut against Nigeria last time out, despite their opponents managing 20 shots in the match.
Midfield bedrock Keira Walsh also returned to the fold against Nigeria last time out and that provides extra cover for England's defence, who could be in for another fine performance.
While the performance level has not consistently been where Wiegman would like it to be, tournament football is all about results and England have three wins and a draw to their name so far.
Their defeat to Australia back in April in a friendly remains their only defeat under Wiegman, who led them to Euro 2022 success on home soil last year, and a semi-final spot beckons for the Lionesses.
Slow and steady has been the theme of England's tournament and, while fans should not expect anything spectacular from this contest, another low-scoring win could be on the cards for the Lionesses, who are worth a bet to win to nil.
Following England's penalty shootout win over Nigeria, many of the headlines circulating were about the dismissal of Lionesses forward James.
The red card awarded to James means she will now be suspended until the final, should England make it that far, and her absence will be felt given that only France's Kadidiatou Diani had more goal involvements than James in the tournament prior to the quarter-finals.
Her absence further inhibits an England team who have already found goals hard to come by and this is likely to be a cagey clash in Sydney.
While England have not exactly been firing on all cylinders, Colombia have also found goals hard to come by, despite their success at this Women's World Cup so far.
Each of the last two matches involving the South Americans have been settled by 1-0 scorelines, so under 1.5 goals could be a wise bet.
With James unavailable, Wiegman will need to make changes to her team for this quarter-final with Colombia and that could mean a reshuffling in attack especially.
Rachel Daly has predominantly been used as a defensive wide player throughout her England career, having operated at wing-back last time out, but for club side Aston Villa she has thrived as a forward and she could be dangerous up top in this contest.
Daly finished as top scorer in the Women's Super League last season with 22 goals in as many matches for Aston Villa.
With James out, she will likely be pushed forward into a more advanced role to support the likes of Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, who started as a front two last time out.
With that in mind and given her goalscoring form last season, Daly is a good bet to score at anytime in this quarter-final with Colombia.
England to win to nil @ 10/11
Under 1.5 goals @ 6/4
Rachel Daly to score at anytime @ 11/5
Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.
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