Moscow: England manager Gareth Southgate said his team got the reward they deserved after edging Colombia out 4-3 in a gut-wrenching World Cup penalty shootout here Tuesday.
“We suffered a cruel blow in added on time which we had to show incredible resilience to come back from,” said a relieved Southgate, whose own penalty miss cost England in the semifinals against Germany at Euro 1996. “It was a night when I knew we were going to get over the line. We had the belief and the resilience. Today (Tuesday) is a special moment for this team. Hopefully it will give belief to the generations of players that follow. In life you always have to believe what is possible and not be hindered by history or expectations,” added the England coach.
Southgate reserved special praise for Pickford, who made a magnificent save to keep out a spectacular strike from Mateus Uribe before a vital stop in the shootout.
“It was a top-class save, I’m surprised he could reach it given his height,” Southgate said with a wry smile. “He’s really athletic around the goal, he is excellent and he executed the plan in the penalty shootout.”
Southgate admitted the gruelling nature of the match had taken its toll on his players, with Colombia shown six yellow cards. “It’s like a scene from MASH in the dressing room. For some I think it’s just cramp and some need more assessment. We’ll know more over the next 36 hours,” Southgate informed.
Meanwhile Pickford admitted that the research on the Colombian players had paid off for him.
When Carlos Bacca stepped up to take Colombia’s fifth and final penalty, Pickford knew he was likely to shoot to the left and leaped accordingly. Research wasn’t enough on its own — he also needed lightning reactions to shoot his left arm up to paw away Bacca’s high shot.
“I did a whole bunch of research,” Pickford said, his confidence sky-high. “(Radamel) Falcao was the only one who didn’t go his way. I don’t care if I’m not the biggest keeper in the world. I have the power and agility.”
“We don’t have a good record against them (Sweden). I think we have always underestimated them. So we got to be careful”
Gareth Southgate