England lost 1-0 to Belgium on Thursday night.
Both sides made sweeping changes for the game, which was settled by a brilliant goal from Adnan Januzaj just after half-time. The result meant that England finished second in Group G, and will play now Colombia on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup. The winner of that tie will play the winner of the game between Sweden and Switzerland. Belgium will play Japan, and will meet either Brazil or Mexico in the quarter-finals should they overcome the Asian side.
It appears some England fans are already mapping out their route to the final. Gary Neville did just that on ITV’s coverage of the defeat to Belgium.
The former Manchester United defender, who worked as a coach with England under Roy Hodgson, said that England should be very confident about their chances in Russia, and that they have an excellent chance to reach the semi-finals.
“We should now be the most positive we’ve ever been,” he said.
“We’ve got an opportunity to play Colombia and then Sweden or Switzerland to get to a World Cup semi-final. What a chance.”
You can watch Neville here:
England haven’t won a knockout game at a tournament since they beat Ecuador in the last-16 of the World Cup in 2006. Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup four years ago.
Neville’s not usually one for looking that so far ahead, and England will have a very tough game against Colombia before they even consider reaching a semi-final.
