MOSCOW, July 4, 2018 (BSS/TASS)- England’s win on a penalty shootout with Colombia in the match of the Last 16 round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday night in Moscow was a special night for the squad and its staff as well as for all supporters of the team, Head Coach Gareth Southgate said after the game.
Team England completed a list of the quarterfinalists at the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Colombia at the Spartak Arena on Tuesday night after their 1-1 draw in the main time of the last match in the round of Last 16.
“I am really proud of the way my team played,” Southgate told journalists. “We controlled the game in the 90 minutes and played with a great discipline. We were very composed in the use of the ball.”
The number of football fans wearing the bright yellow outfit of the Colombian team at the over 45,000-seat capacity Spartak Arena was obviously exceeding the number of England’s supporters. The audience during the match totaled 44,190.
“We had to suffer in the end of the game in a stadium, which was packed five to one with Colombian fans,” he said. “Our fans were absolutely important.” “It is a special night for everyone involved with the team and for all of our supporters at home,” England’s head coach added.
England is now set to play in the quarterfinals of the world championship against Sweden in the Volga city of Samara on July 7. The Swedish squad managed to edge Switzerland 1-0 in another Last 16 match, played earlier in the day in Saint Petersburg.
In all, 32 national football teams entered the 2018 FIFA World Cup and only 16 of them proceeded to the knockout phase after the group stage, which kicked off on June 14 and ended on June 28.
According to FIFA’s official statistics, the total number of fans at all stadiums during 48 matches of the group stage came to 2,178,894 people, which carries an average of 45,394 at each match.
The national teams, which cleared the round of Last 16, are hosts Russia, Croatia, Uruguay, France, Brazil, Belgium, Sweden and England.