The momentum was killed.. but I still back Lions

DON’T despair. Believe it or not, that could even have been a dress rehearsal for the World Cup final.

Sure, England’s performance might have been disjointed.

But then what did you expect from a side with eight changes from the team that hit six of the best against Panama?

Tournament football is all about where you ultimately finish – it’s not about whether you take the scenic route or the hardest one.

I’m backing England to beat Colombia in the last 16 – and then they are a decent gamble to go all the way.

But the odd thing is that England manager Gareth Southgate was speaking before the game about momentum.

Where is the momentum supposed to be, however, after losing a game while making eight changes?

Surely momentum would have been all about just playing your best team and winning – not making wholesale changes and losing?

And I would be justifiably gutted if I was Harry Kane (above) – he was on a roll, with five goals in two games and on course for the Golden Boot in the World Cup. And then he was left on the bench, in the name of rotation.

The end goal – if you are a fantasist – is England lifting the World Cup.

But surely it would help to achieve it if Kane could score more goals and emulate Gary Lineker by winning the prestigious award for leading goalscorer.

The Tottenham striker is probably the only world-class player in England’s side – so why leave him out?

Would Portugal have left out Cristiano Ronaldo?

Would Argentina have left out Lionel Messi?

Would Brazil have left out Neymar? No way. The funny thing is that Adnan Januzaj’s brilliant winner for Belgium last night could be the goal that wins England the World Cup.

Because it could open up a more favourable route to the final, couldn’t it?

But first stop is Moscow on Tuesday.