England finally banish their penalty hoodoo

England finally figure out penalties

Before the clash with Colombia, England were dreading the possibility of penalties. The three times they have gone to penalties at the World Cup, they have lost. Continually losing that way is a massive psychological hurdle to get over, even if the same players are not taking the spotkicks.

This new England, however, kept their bottle and got the job done, with the likes of Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier - not known for their goalscoring exploits, calmly slotting home their kicks - with Dier's the decider. While England did not play all that well against Colombia, this victory will give them a massive mental boost for the rest of the tournament. Is football actually coming home?

How did Colombia not get a red card?

Wilmar Barrios should have gone a few times in the match, not least for the headbutt that only warranted a yellow in the referee's eyes. The other Colombian players were also hellbent on kicking as many England players as they could and then giving the referee a hard time by swarming him when a decision went against them. A stronger referee would likely have sent at least one Colombian off, but that was not the case. While we don't like to see the ugly side of football, it did make for a fierce encounter.

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Sweden pip Switzerland

The match between Sweden and Switzerland kind of went the way most expected. It was tight and a tad bit boring. However, Sweden got the job done and will now face England in the semi-finals of the World Cup. That is quite an achievement when you consider that they were given little chance of making it out of the group stage. Who knows how far they will go now? We will find out on Saturday.

The Swiss will have nightmares

So many chances, no genuine goal threat. The Swiss will be having nightmares about their performance against Sweden for years to come. It was there for the taking, but they just couldn't get the job done.