England vs Colombia 2-1: Women’s World Cup 2023 – as it happened

We are down to the final four.

Spain and Sweden will face off on August 15, and hosts Australia will take on a familiar adversary in England on August 16.

Colombia, who were hoping to become the second South American side after Brazil to make the semifinals, bow out of the tournament, but not without creating some lasting impressions.

They showed plenty of intent, but just couldn’t get past a determined English side.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of today’s exciting encounter, and we look forward to you joining us again in a few days when the semifinals kick off.

WE ARE #FIFAWWC SEMI-FINALISTS! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤩 pic.twitter.com/LDygfmDBsH

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) August 12, 2023

Alessia Russo, who scored the winner, shared her thoughts: “[Reaching a] semi-final of a World Cup. We are keeping the dream alive. Colombia are a top team. It was a really tough test, so we are happy to get into the semis.”

“We had to dig deep from the first game. They have so many talented players who can cause you trouble in a second,” she said.

“It is exciting [playing Australia next]. What more do you want? You want to play the best teams and of course they are the host. I am so excited.”

6 – Across the 2022 Women’s Euros and 2023 World Cup, only Alexandra Popp (10) has more goals than Alessia Russo (6). Occasion. pic.twitter.com/7WLbbV8CTW

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 12, 2023

⭐️ POTM: Lauren Hemp – 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 2-1 Colombia 🇨🇴

⚽️ Goals: 1
🏹 Shots: 1
🔐 Key passes: 1
👥 Aerial wins: 1
💪 Tackles: 5
🌡️ WS rating: 8.32

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hemp’s goal helps England into the semi-finals! pic.twitter.com/Z9wo17LHlB

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 12, 2023

The @Lionesses advance to their third consecutive #FIFAWWC Semi-Final! 👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

— FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) August 12, 2023

With the final blow of the whistle, England book their semi-final date with Australia on August 16!

Spare a thought for Colombia, who outshot their rivals 15 to 10, but just couldn’t make the telling blow.

It was a match which ebbed and flowed, but it will be the Lionesses who move forward, with The Powerpuff Girls heading back home.

Full-time: England 2-1 Colombia

Earps looks in trouble as the forward shoots from outside the box, but doesn’t get it on target with the ball sailing past the left upright.

90+7 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

It is not very often you get to say this, but England have made another substitution, with the substitute being Bethany England.

Hemp, who scored the first goal, heads back to the bench.

90+4 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

With the numerous breaks in play this half, we will have another eight minutes of stoppage time.

That should give Colombian fans plenty of hope as their side desperately seek out the equaliser.

90+1 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

The South Americans have shown plenty of heart, but just can’t find a way past this English defence.

89 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

The scorer of England’s second goal walks off to a rapturous applause as her replacement Chloe Kelly rushes on.

85 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

Chacon has been a livewire since coming on.

She slaloms through the right side of the box, but both her efforts are stymied by the English backline.

Colombia win a corner from the left side, but the threat is soon averted.

83 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

Ivonne Chacon rushes onto the field to help her teammates find an equalizer, with Diana Ospina trudging off.

79 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

With their World Cup campaign on a knife’s edge, The Powerpuff Girls are summoning all their powers to try and find an equaliser.

England have shifted back again, but are using their wing-backs to launch counters when available.

76 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

Greenwood makes an errant pass which is blocked by her Colombian marker.

It allows for a quick break for the South Americans, with the ball ending up at the feet of Durango.

She decides to launch a fierce strike from range, with Earps diving to her right to make the stop.

The resulting corner is taken from the right side, but England are able to clear the ball.

73 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

After an earlier aerial challenge had Perez in some bother, it appeared she would be able to continue.

With the England goal, she is once again assessed, and it looks like her vision might have been affected from the incident.

As a precaution, the Colombian manager decides to sub in Natalia Giraldo in her place.

68 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

Russo puts England in front!

A well-timed pass from Greenwood finds the forward in the box on the right side.

With the defenders collapsing on her, she produces a razor-sharp finish to the far corner to send England fans wild.

63 mins: England 2-1 Colombia

The attempt is taken about 25 metres out just left of centre.

It is passed to Greenwood on the left, who rushes into the box before crossing into the goal area.

But Colombia’s goalkeeper just gets her fingertips to it and the ball is cleared.

58 mins: England 1-1 Colombia

Another corner is won by the Lionesses from the same side.

This time Daly latches on the end of it inside the box, but doesn’t get the requisite power to concern Perez.

53 mins: England 1-1 Colombia

It is taken from the right side, with Stanway on the end of it.

She drives it low towards the box, with a Colombian defender able to steer it away for another corner from the same side.

Her next delivery is a bit more flighted, but Walsh’s effort from outside the box fails to trouble the keeper.

50 mins: England 1-1 Colombia

The players have returned after a well-earned breather.

With the sides level, the next 45 minutes will be crucial if they want to avoid this encounter going into extra time, and then the dreaded penalties to follow.

It will be Colombia to kick off proceedings.

46 mins: England 1-1 Colombia