MIRACLE OF MOSCOW!
We thought we knew the script but then came ...
‘Football’s coming home’
THE country watched in disbelief last night as the miracle of Moscow saw England go through to the quarter finals of the World Cup.
After Colombia’s equaliser in the final stages of the game and goalless extra time, the nation’s heart sank as the match went to dreaded penalties.
Just minutes from defeat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford became a national hero after skilfully saving Carlos Bacca’s effort.
As a result the Three Lions booked a place in Saturday’s quarter-final when they will play Sweden in Samara.
The familiar curse of England losing on penalties seemed once again on the cards when Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson saw his spot kick saved.
But failure then followed from Colombia’s Mateus Uribe who crashed his effort on to the crossbar.
Pickford then produced a crucial save when he kept out Bacca’s effort.
In front of a capacity 45,000 Spartak Sradium it was then left to Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier to step up.
He planted his effort past Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Ospina to win the shoot-out 4-3.
Tottenham player Kieran Trippier said after the shoot-out: ‘I thought we played really well in the first half and for their goal, it was a mistake by myself. I was gutted. I keep going on about the spirit of the team, we carried on, we believed and in the shoot-out, we have some great takers. We practised and practised and it paid off.’
Earlier the team had victory snatched from their grasp when the South Americans scored a 93rd minute equaliser to cancel out captain Harry Kane’s secondhalf penalty.
His strike made him the tournament’s leading scorer with six goals – not counting a seventh effort he bagged during the penalty shoot-out.
It also made him the first player to score in six consecutive England appearances since Tommy Lawton did so in 1939.
The super strike left a pub landlord in Kane’s ancestral homeland regretting his decision to offer free pints every time the England captain scored.
Molly’s Bar in Letterfrack, Co. Galway, is a popular haunt among Kane’s Irish family. Kane’s cousins, Liz and Yvonne Kane are awardwinning folk musicians who regularly perform at the pub as the fiddle-playing local act The Kane Sisters.
Last night Liz was cheering her cousin on from the pub.
Landlord Gerry Lyons, 56, lost more than £5,000 from his generous offer, but said it was all worth it. He said: ‘It doesn’t matter at all. Harry Kane’s father, his uncles and everyone on his father’s side comes from this village. We are all supporting him and we’re very very proud.
‘When Harry scored a penalty we all hugged each other and just went absolutely wild. It’s great to see Irish people celebrating.
‘I rang the bell and said everyone could get a free drink. There wasn’t a rush on at the bar – everyone was very cordial. It was Guinness, Guinness, Guinness, nothing else.’
Luckily, Mr Lyons, who opened the bar in 1991, bought in extra stocks of Guinness for the game. He said he had ordered an extra 15 barrels – each containing 90 pints.
He said: ‘I hope we see an Irishman lift the World Cup. That would be fantastic. I am so proud.’
In what was often a feisty contest, with some frequent tough tackling from the South Americans, England started well and put the Colombian defence under early pressure.
There was also controversy in the first half when Colombian defender Wilma Barrios appeared to headbutt Henderson.
After a delay American referee Mark Geiger only gave the player a yellow card when many in the stadium expected him to brandish a red.
England were cheered on by around 3,000 fans in the 45,000 Spartak stadium, but appeared outnumbered by around 9,000 Colombia fans.
The South Americans are thought to have brought 40,000 fans to Russia to support their team in the tournament.
Theresa May announced a boycott of ministers attending the World Cup in March following the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The president of the FA, the Duke of Cambridge, has been notable by his absence.
But last night Kensington Palace tweeted a message, seemingly written by Prince William.
It read: ‘I couldn’t be prouder of England – a victory in a penalty shoot-out! You have well and truly