England entered their quarterfinals match already shorthanded due to injuries to key players and the suspension of Lauren James following her stamp on Nigerian forward Michelle Alozie.
Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo's goals for the Lionesses lifted them to a 2-1 victory in a thriller against Colombia, sending them to the semifinals for a third straight year.
In a tournament that has been filled with endless excitement, the 4th-ranked Lionesses were one of just four top 10 teams left standing in the tournament, the others being Sweden (3rd), Spain (6th), and Australia (10th).
Colombia (25th) was the lowest-ranked team remaining and have previously never advanced to the quarterfinals in their country's history, though they opened the scoring with a volley from Leicy Santos that surprised everyone on the field and the crowd, though it caused an uproar from the many yellow-and-blue Colombian fans in a packed house of 75,784 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
While just outside of the near corner of the box, Santos hit a double fake on Rachel Daly, then put a perfectly placed volley out of the reach of England goalkeeper Mary Earps that went over her right hand.
England trailed for the first time in the tournament, though having won 37 of their last 38 games, they kept their cool and were not bothered by the goal late in the first half.
They quickly regained the lead in the final minute of stoppage time in that half, with Hemp taking advantage of a goalkeeping error from Colombia keeper Catalina Pérez, marking the only quarterfinal match where both teams scored a first half goal.
Russo then got behind the Colombia defense in the 63rd minute, after a stumbling by Daniela Arias to get a through ball from Georgia Stanway, where the ball took a bounce off of Arias and was up for grabs in the box, and Russo fired a blast at the bottom corner.
Colombia was doing everything they can to fight for the tying goal from that point onward, barraging England with shots left and right.
Lorena Bedoya blasted a shot from outside of the box down Main Street at the 70th minute, but Earps leapt off her feet to make the jumping save with her right hand.
Mayra Ramírez was knocking on the doorstep at the 78th minute looking to get the tying tally, though Rachel Daly stayed with her and prevent the goal-scoring opportunity from fully developing, allowing for a clear from Jessica Carter.
Then at the final minutes of stoppage time in the second half, 18-year-old Linda Caicedo, one of the most exciting players to watch in the tournament, tried a last-chance deep ball, but shook her head after she fired it over the crossbar.
Both sides had plenty of opportunities early, especially Caicedo. She shook off Carter as the teenager was rushing down the far side of the field for an opportunity, faked out the English defender off as both were in the box, but the shot was high.
She showed her skill again in the 38th minute, as she fought through traffic while in the box after a cross from Ana Guzmán, and got the shot away while being surrounded by three English defenders. While the shot was stopped by Earps, Caicedo showed tremendous poise in the sequence.
Guzmán, another teenager on the Colombia women's team, was an early substitution for Colombia as Carolina Arias had to leave the game due to an injury after a hard collision in the box, getting in the game just nine minutes in.
And physicality was the name of this match, with Daly getting blown up by Guzmán along the near-side line in the 23rd minute while trying to progress the ball, and later Bedoya getting sandwiched by both Lucy Bronze and Stanway, followed by Bronze getting tripped up by Ivonne Chacón in a matter of seconds at the penultimate minute of regulation.
England had some early scoring chances, with Russo tipping a header to the net at the 11th minute after a cross from Hemp, though standing there at the goal was Pérez.
Pérez came up with another save 16 minutes later after an attempted clear by Jorelyn Carabali, with Stanway keeping the ball in the box and finding Daly, who tried to head-ball it into the net, though the Colombian goalkeeper didn't get moved a bit.
England remained calm throughout the match, and given that Colombia wanted to keep the Lionesses away from the box, which had previously troubled them, Sarina Wiegman got her players to adapt efficiently, which they did. All it took was for the right chance to come, and it happened twice.
In a stark contrast to what happened against Nigeria, England stayed patient, and did not want to get overexposed to a defender at the backline that was progressing forward.
There was a lot going wrong for the Lionesses against Nigeria, though that's in part of Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum getting Nigeria's girls to attack England's wings, which worked, and nearly got the Lionesses eliminated in the first round.
Wiegman, the only remaining female head coach of any women's team left standing in this year's tournament, ensured that her girls would not fall for the trap again. Sticking with the 3-5-2 formation, she had them paying attention to Colombia's top two playmakers, Caicedo and Ramírez.
Both were constantly double teamed, which effectively shut the both of them down.
Colombia, however, used Nigeria's blueprint on looking to shut down England's attack, and kept the possession away from the central areas.
That plan let to Santos' goal, and they were pushing for the tying goal after falling behind 2-1 in following this game plan. Calceido and Ramírez fired shots wide, though the clock giving the team a limited time provided a sense of urgency in getting shots quickly.
In the end, South America now has no more countries representing the continent in this year's Women's World Cup.
But Colombia showed a balance of their play, and they have most likely started something special on the women's side in South American football/soccer. Everything is there in place for them to start a new chapter for the continent.
Having won the player of the tournament in last year's Copa América Femenina, she is one of a number of players on the rise. Guzmán was another one of those players at the bright stage, assisting on Catalina Usme's goal against Jamaica and ran on the right side with her against England.
Head coach Nelson Abadía is known for developing his players, where they are making their marks not only at the senior level but also at the youth level.
They'll have to address the issue of their resourcing, a major topic in years past. Most of the team's most recognizable players previously spoke on the abuses in the women's game in their country, and also protested the lack of domestic football, despite being the hosts of the Copa América Femenina, that there was not enough to justify running the competitions.
The fans also got on board in supporting the change, which will only increase in support after their impressive run in Australia.
On the other side, there were times England felt Colombia's physicality, but they came through without any cautions, so they won't have to worry about losing Stanway, Bronze, or Hemp, who all each have a yellow card, in their semifinals match against Australia.
However, they were in the semifinals in the previous Women's World Cup, where they lost 2-1 to the United States. Bronze said that she replays the loss every day in her mind, though she also said that her team looks forward, and that "it's a new challenge and new opportunity."
In a rivalry renewed, it gives team captain Millie Bright, who received a red card for accumulating two yellow cards in last year's semifinals, a chance to go up against Chelsea teammate Sam Kerr, and Bright hopes that she can use the hostility from the Australian crowd to England's advantage.
And now both nations have a chance at advancing to the Women's World Cup Final for the first time in each of their histories. The match will kick off on August 16th at 6:00 AM EDT. FOX has the U.S. telecast, TSN the Canadian telecast, and Televisa the Mexican telecast, with Telemundo providing the Spanish-speaking telecast in the U.S.
Scoring
Colombia, 44': Leicy Santos [1], right footed shot from right side of the box to high center of the goal, assisted by Linda Caicedo [1]. 1-0 Colombia
England, 45'+6': Lauren Hemp [2], left footed shot from very close range to center of the goal off goalkeeping error from Catalina Pérez. 1-1 Tie
England, 63': Alessia Russo [2], right footed shot from right side of the box to bottom left corner. 2-1 England
Substitutions
Colombia, 10': Ana Guzmán replaces Carolina Arias because of an injury.
Colombia, 68': Natalia Giraldo replaces Catalina Pérez because of an injury.
Colombia, 78': Ivonne Chacón replaces Diana Ospina.
England, 84': Chloe Kelly replaces Alessia Russo.
England, 90'+3': Bethany England replaces Lauren Hemp.
Disciplinary
None
Team Stats
Possession: England 61% advantage
Shots: England 10, Colombia 15
On Target: England 6, Colombia 3
Fouls: England 5, Colombia 8
Yellow Cards: England 0, Colombia 0
Red Cards: England 0, Colombia 0
Offsides: England 1, Colombia 1
Corner Kicks: England 5, Colombia 3
Saves: England 2, Colombia 4
Miscellaneous
Venue: Stadium Australia (Accor Stadium)
Location: Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 75,784 (Capacity: 82,500)
Referee: Katja Koroleva (United States)
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