Fifa World Cup: Three Lions roar in Moscow as England change their destiny

England head coach Gareth Southgate, center left, leaves the field with England's Danny Rose after defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout. Photo / AP

Wherever England goes, drama seems to follow.

After four decades of watching the Three Lions, that has become one of the great truisms of world football.

Yet again on Wednesday morning, an England World Cup knockout match ended in a particularly improbable fashion.

But for once England was on the right side of the ledger.

That looked highly unlikely at just after 11:00pm on a cool Moscow night, when the referee blew his whistle for the end of extra time.

Not just because of their wretched penalty history, and the fact that Colombia went first in the shootout (historically a big advantage) and also that England fell behind midway through the series.

But also because the South American team had all the momentum after their late, late equaliser, and the atmosphere at Spartak Stadium felt like Bogota or Medellin, such was the huge volume of fans in yellow.

"Si, se puede, Si se puede (Yes we can, yes we can)" they roared, soon followed by "Esta noche, tenemos que ganar (Tonight, we have to win)."

The small pocket of fans in white – surely a rare sight for England to be outnumbered in a World Cup match in Europe – had been silent for most of extra time period, still no doubt shocked by Colombia's 93rd minute equaliser.

Their supporters had been inconscipious during the day in Moscow, perhaps wanting to stay undercover given past history with Russian ultras.

"A lot of people haven't come," said one fan. "There was a feeling that it was too dangerous...the media certainly had that message."

Meanwhile the tens of thousands of Colombian fans taunted their English opposites – in a good natured way – singing 'Where are the English, where have they gone..."

England started with all the ascedency, pushing forward with pace and movement.
Colombia didn't have a decent shot until after the half hour mark, and only really threatened in the last 10 minutes of the match.

But their equaliser was a beauty, yet another amazing episode in this remarkable World Cup.

Colombia had an extra spring in their step during the extra time period, while the large bank of Fleet Street scribes on the press benches prepared to reshape their stories, as editors back in London were no doubt trawling the archives for photos of previous footballing tragedies.

And so to penalties. The first five were all tucked away superbly, but Jordan Henderson betrayed his nerves as he walked up. He was juggling the ball – trying to distract himself – but to no avail, as his attempt was unconvincing and well saved.

Then came the pivotal moment, as Mateus Uribe struck the crossbar. Had he scored, there may have been no way back for the men in red. But Kieran Trippier showed composure with a clinical finish – burying the memories of his inablility to prevent Colombia's goal when stationed on the line – before Carlos Bacca's fateful miss, which presented Eric Dier with the chance to be a hero.