Backline trio spring to England’s defence to silence doubters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - England’s victory over Colombia on Tuesday will be remembered by their fans for the nerve-jangling breaking of their penalty shootout hoodoo but it was also the night when many of the doubts and questions over Gareth Southgate’s side were answered.

Prior to the tournament, most observers agreed that Southgate had an enviable array of attacking talent to choose from. With Harry Kane, whose six goals in the tournament are no real surprise, leading the line and Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard behind him, England have exciting talent in their front line.

Southgate also has plenty of alternatives for those roles in Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but the doubts were focussed on his defence and inexperienced goalkeepers.

Coming into the Round of 16 clash against Colombia, England’s rearguard had yet to be truly tested.

Tunisia and Panama barely probed the three-man central defence, while the final group game against Belgium saw both sides field reserve line-ups, rendering any analysis irrelevant.

Colombia though certainly had the quality, will and opportunity to exploit any weaknesses in Southgate’s defence and, while the late header from Yerry Mina forced extra-time, the backline passed their examination in impressive fashion.

Harry Maguire and John Stones were chosen by Southgate primarily because of their ability to play the ball out of defence and for their comfort in possession.

The have shown those qualities in this tournament but on Tuesday, under pressure and facing dangerous players of the ability of Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuardado they also showed they have all the defensive basics in place.

More than that, even though Colombia were attacking in numbers, at times in frenetic fashion, Stones and Maguire, along with Kyle Walker, were still able to play the ball out of the back with a calmness rarely seen in an England side.