England booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup with a dramatic victory over Colombia on penalty kicks Tuesday afternoon, a result that finalizes the four quarter-final match-ups to take place Friday and Saturday.
Here are the World Cup quarter-final match-ups, and how the teams got there:
France vs. Uruguay (Friday July 6, 10 a.m. ET)
France qualified for the quarter-finals with a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in the Round of 16, on the back of an electric performance from 19-year-old sensation Kylian Mbappe.
The result sent Lionel Messi’s team home, with the Barcelona player’s career quest for a World Cup title likely done and dusted.
Uruguay booked their spot with a 2-1 win over Portugal, courtesy two goals from striker Edinson Cavani. That result meant Messi’s great rival, Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, will also likely end his career without winning a World Cup.
Brazil vs. Belgium (Friday, July 6, 2 p.m. ET)
Tournament favourites Brazil earned their quarter-final berth with a 2-0 win over Mexico, with star striker Neymar scoring the first goal and helping set up the second.
Their quarter-final opponents will be Belgium, who defeated Japan 3-2 with a dramatic winning goal in the last kick of the game.
Get daily National news
— The winner of Uruguay-France will play the winner of Brazil-Belgium in the first semi-final on Tuesday, July 10.
Sweden vs. England (Saturday, July 7, 10 a.m. ET)
Sweden needed a deflected shot from striker Emil Forsberg to get a 1-0 win over Switzerland in a scrappy Round of 16 match earlier Tuesday.
England secured their quarter-final spot following their penalty shootout victory over Colombia on Tuesday afternoon. England took the lead via captain and star striker Harry Kane, only for Colombia to equalize in the dying seconds of the game thanks to a header from defender Yerry Mina.
WATCH: Cheers then heartbreak as Colombia is eliminated from World Cup by penalties
The two teams couldn’t be separated after 30 minutes of extra-time, taking the match to penalty kicks., with England prevailing.
WATCH: Fans erupt in cheers in UK town as England wins penalty shootout against Colombia
Kane’s goal was his sixth in the World Cup, making him the favourite to end the tournament as top-scorer. Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku trails him on four goals.
Russia vs. Croatia (Saturday, July 7, 2 p.m. ET)
Tournament hosts Russia were widely considered one of the weakest World Cup hosts in recent decades, making their Round of 16 victory over a strong Spain side one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. That game, too, was tied 1-1 before Russia went on to win in a penalty kick shootout.
READ MORE: World Cup hosts Russia stun Spain 4-3 on penalty kicks, reach quarter-finals
Croatia also needed a penalty kick shootout to defeat their Round of 16 opponents, Denmark.
Croatia captain Luka Modric missed a golden opportunity to win the match for his side, seeing his penalty kick saved towards the end of the regulation 90 minutes with the score tied at 1-1. The match then eventually went to a penalty shootout, with Modric this time managing to bury his penalty kick.
— The winner of Sweden-England will play the winner of Russia-Croatia in the second semi-final on Wednesday, July 11.
Comments