Cahill warns Three Lions to beware Colombia
England insist they are on full World Cup alert for Colombian duo Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado having already been burned by one Premier League outcast with a point to prove.
Former Sunderland winger Adnan Januzaj was the matchwinner as Belgium beat Gareth Southgate’s side 1-0 on Thursday and said his desire to prove English critics wrong helped fuel his performance.
His strike meant England finished second in Group G and will now meet the tabletopping South Americans in the last 16.
While Tuesday’s tie will centre largely on the fitness of James Rodriguez, who came off injured in Colombia’s win over Senegal, Falcao and Cuadrado (pictured) are just as important to their cause.
Falcao looked a shadow of his best during loan stints at Chelsea and Manchester United, while Cuadrado was one of many talents who got lost in the shuffle after a big-money move to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill said: “Falcao had a difficult time in England clearly, but outside of England he’s a very high-profile player.
“He’s scored many, many goals. He did have a difficult time in England, showed his character when he went to find his form again and now he’s a huge player for them (Monaco). “I’m sure a huge amount was probably confidence. He had that spell at Manchester United, then he had that spell at us, he was short of sharpness at both of them. He’s refound his form now. “He’s tricky in the box, he likes to come off the shoulder a little bit, and he’s a good finisher. When he gets half a chance, we saw that in training he’s a decent finisher. Everyone knows him, everyone’s aware of him, his ability.”
Ruben Loftus-Cheek also worked with the Colombian pair at Chelsea and gave a ringing endorsement of their skill.
“Cuadrado didn’t get much game time but he still looked sharp,” he said. “He is so sharp and he can just do things off the cuff, he gets past defenders. As for Falcao, he is always a goal threat and he has been for his entire career.
“It will be a difficult game.”