England starting line-up vs Colombia: Full-strength XI from Southgate, major boost with key injury for rivals

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England face Colombia in their last-16 World Cup clash on Tuesday night with the winner going on to face Sweden in the quarter-finals.

The Swedes took care of business earlier in the day as they secured a 1-0 win over Switzerland to advance to the last eight as their tournament continues.

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However, the focus now switches to England and Colombia, with both sides desperate to advance as the right side of the draw has really opened up after some big-name casualties.

Gareth Southgate made plenty of changes last time out in the defeat to Belgium, but as expected, he’s brought back his big guns to put out a strong side which will be led by top goalscorer Harry Kane, with the Tottenham ace supported by the likes of Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling.

The Three Lions secured wins over Tunisia and Panama in the group stage, scoring eight goals in the process. In turn, they’ll be hoping to pose a similar threat to Colombia, although Jose Pekerman’s side boast plenty of quality of their own with the likes of Falcao, Juan Cuadrado and Juan Quintero.

However, after much discussion over the past week, there is no place for key man James Rodriguez in their starting line-up as he has been struggling with an injury which forced him to limp off in the first half of their win last time out.

His creativity and quality in the playmaker role will be a major loss for Pekerman, but it remains to be seen if they can march on without him.

One unlikely danger man will be Barcelona defender Yerry Mina, who has stepped up to score two goals already this tournament and will be a threat from set-pieces.

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