England need to be wary of ailing Colombia
By Aman Sridhar
England will be happy they’re playing a Colombia side without their best player, but Colombia are still dangerous.
Their match against Belgium should have been the England’s first real test of the tournament. As it was, Gareth Southgate, knowing his team was already qualified, used the opportunity to give his second team a run out. Needless to say, they disappointed.
England are in the last 16, and now face Colombia. Rewind to a week ago, and Colombia would have been the team they would have wanted to avoid. The way James Rodriguez, Falcao, Juan Cuadrado and Juan Quintero linked up to tear apart Poland was beautiful to watch.
However, that Colombian quartet is down to a trio, with James likely to miss the match with injury.
England fans will rejoice at this news, but they should hold off on their celebrations. This Colombia side may be down, but they’re not out.
Colombia today are a different team to the one that won over the world’s heart in 2014. Veterans Mario Yepes, Jackson Martinez and Adrian Ramos are nowhere close to this current side. In midfield, youngsters William Barrios and Jefferson Lerma have replaced the likes of Fredy Guarin and Pablo Armero.
It’s this youthful, vibrant energy that is the real threat to England.
Colombia are a good team with a very wily manager in Jose Pekerman. Pekerman will know how to hurt England, and will set his side up in exactly that way. He’s been with Colombia for six years now, and knows the ins and outs of that team. He sets his teams up very well, and uses their weapons effectively.
Barrios is a combative midfield player with a calm head. He can pick a pass, but it is his relentless energy in midfield that is his standout quality. He’s South America’s version of N’Golo Kante. Barrios had been linked with a move away from his current club, Boca Juniors, all summer long. As the Barcelona rumors began to die down, in stepped Tottenham. It’s a testament to Barrios’ playing style that he’s being linked to a Champions League club.
Jefferson Lerma should start alongside Barrios in midfield. Lerma is also linked with a move to a Premier League club and had a breakout season this year with Levante.
Barrios and Lerma will aggressively press the England midfield. Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli (should he start) and Jordan Henderson have shown that they can deal with a press before, but they haven’t had to do it in the tournament yet.
The second string England side showed just how vulnerable they can be when teams look to attack them, but the first team isn’t much better. The England backline is a major chink in their armor. They played too passively against Belgium, which ended up giving Belgium the opportunity to create chance after the chance. They cannot afford to do that against the likes of Cuadrado and Quintero.
England have started matches aggressively so far. They will need to do that again: Attack Colombia and go a goal up.
The problem with this strategy, however, is that England haven’t shown they can keep a team out. Colombia will take heart from this. England will need to be at full throttle throughout the match, and not allow even a slight drop in their concentration levels.
They’ll need to take responsibility of the ball and break down a strong Colombian defensive wall. But setting up this way will leave spaces for the Colombian attackers to run into.
Quintero will be key for Colombia. He has already shown his ability to pick a pass in between lines. Colombia will most likely set up to defend and frustrate England and strike on the counter. With how high England’s wing-backs play, there’s space for Cuadrado and Falcao to attack.
John Stones, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker haven’t played together for enough time to understand each other’s defensive game well enough. Falcao and Cuadrado will look at this and use all their experience and pace to rattle them.
England work their set pieces very well, but so do Colombia. Yerry Mina is a giant of a man and is a major threat in the air. Pekerman will drill this Colombia side to make the most out of any corners and free kicks they get in the opposing half.
This young England side have shown how much fun they can be going forward; if they manage to improve their defensive discipline and win against Colombia, the world (cup) is at their feet.