Gareth gushes, Jose cries foul

Moscow, July 4: England manager Gareth Southgate said his team got the reward they deserved after edging Colombia 4-3 in a gut-wrenching World Cup penalty shootout.

“We had a cruel blow on 90 minutes 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 ’96.

“It was a night when I knew we were going to get over the line. We had the belief and the resilience to get over the line,” he added.

Southgate has challenged his players to write their own history after England’s poor recent results at finals. “Today 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,” he said.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford revealed his research paid off. “I did a whole bunch of research. (Radamel) Falcao is 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,” the 24-year-old said.

After the 90 minutes were up, “we just reset. And just go ‘Bang, we’re going again and however long it takes.’ Like the gaffer said, ‘If it takes extra time, if it takes penalties, we are going to win this game,’” Pickford said.

“Our mindset and mentality, we never stopped. We knew we had this game even if it went to penalties,” Pickford said.

Pickford was just two years old when England last won a penalty shootout.

After his side were shown six yellow cards, Colombia coach Jose Pekerman made clear his unhappiness with the performance by US referee Mark Geiger.

“When there are so, so many fouls and interruptions I think that’s not good. It’s hurt our side a lot,” Pekerman said.

“We shouldn’t only look at Colombian players. We should also look at England players,” the Colombian coach added. — AFP