Finally, at 11.52pm local time, the last kick of an epic night. Eric Dier, England’s fifth penalty-taker was setting off on his victory run, soon to be submerged by his teammates. Gareth Southgate had forgotten, yet again, he was supposed to be nursing a dislocated shoulder and here was the hard proof that England, contrary to the impression they might have given for much of the previous 30 years, did know how to win a penalty shootout, after all. It was a euphoric and nerve-shredding finale and these are the moments, surely, when England’s followers could be forgiven for daring to dream that something special is building, something exhilarating and rare. Yes, it would be dangerous to get too carried away but right here, right now, to hell with anyone who insists it is time for restraint. England have arrived in the quarter-finals and the World Cup is suddenly filled with all sorts of new possibilities. This was their first knockout victory in a World Cup for 12 years. It was only their seventh, in any major tournament, since 1966, and now they face Sweden on Saturday for the right to play Russia or Croatia in the semi-finals. 01:05 England's historic World Cup penalty shootout win triggers wild celebrations – video Southgate had told us he wanted England’s penalty-takers to “own the process” and they did just that, eventually. It was a close-run thing but Jordan Henderson’s miss – or, rather, David Ospina’s save – mattered little in the end because of Mateus Uribe hitting the crossbar with Colombia’s fourth effort and Jordan Pickford saving the next one from Carlos Bacca, ensuring Moscow 2018, will be remembered much more happily than Turin 1990, Saint-Etienne 1998, and Gelsenkirchen 2006, and not forgetting the European Championships at Wembley 1996; Lisbon 2004 and Kiev 2012. An hour after the match, England’s supporters were still partying at one end of the stadium. They did not want to leave and who could blame them when, after three penalties each, England were one down and staring at another harrowing story of deja vu? Dier joined Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Kieran Trippier in showing why all that practising of penalties on the training ground was necessary. Kane had also scored from 12 yards to give England the lead shortly before the hour and it was not until the third minute of stoppage time that Colombia prolonged the match by concocting the equalising goal. Another team might have wilted after such an agonisingly late equaliser. That, however, was one of the more impressive parts of England’s performance. Dier might have won the match with a free header in the second period of extra time. Danny Rose, another of England’s substitutes, had a golden chance and in the extra 30 minutes there was hardly a single moment when it felt as though Southgate’s players might go under. This was only England’s second shootout victory in eight attempts at major tournaments, the other coming against Spain in Euro 96, and in the process they answered so many questions about their nerve and temperament for the big occasion. Ever since he took the job Southgate has been asked whether his team could cope when the heat of the battle was dangerously close to intolerable. We know now that, yes, they do. Yet the shootout was only part of the story against tough, obdurate opponents – “animals” according to Chris Waddle in his radio commentary – on a night when Colombia’s supporters had filled this stadium in swathes of bright yellow, bouncing and swaying like human blancmange and creating a raucous din. They bellowed the words of their national anthem – Oh gloria inmarcesible – and outnumbered their English counterparts in a way that is rarely seen. Yet just consider, for example, Kane’s competitive courage when he had his first penalty and Colombia’s players, to put it bluntly, lost the plot about the decision to penalise Carlos Sánchez for grappling him to the floor at a corner. The protests were so chaotic Kane’s penalty was delayed by almost four minutes. What nerve the captain showed to improve his position at the top of the Golden Boot scoring chart – his sixth goal and his third penalty. Fiver Colombia might have been missing the injured James Rodríguez but they still occupied a superior rung of the football ladder to Tunisia or Panama or the scratch Belgium XI who England encountered in the group stages. But Southgate’s team were never cowed. The manager had instructed them to play with freedom, to show adventure, to hold out their chests and demonstrate they knew how to take care of a football, too. True, they found it difficult to get behind the Colombia defence and looked more dangerous from set pieces rather than open play. Yet their opponents barely troubled Pickford throughout 90 minutes and that in itself felt like an achievement against a side featuring Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado and Juan Quintero. The evening might have been a lot more straightforward if the correct decision was made, towards the end of the first half, when Wilmar Barrios took exception to Jordan Henderson’s proximity to the defensive wall and dealt out his retribution by lifting his head into his opponent’s jaw. Henderson ended on the floor and Barrios was so lucky to escape with only a yellow card he could be seen shaking the hands of the match officials at half-time. The uproar before Kane’s penalty was shocking in other ways but Southgate had told his players not to react to the provocation and, in that respect, the game against Panama was a valuable lesson. Colombia still had more than half an hour in normal play, plus five minutes of added time, to concoct an equaliser. They spent most of that time arguing with the referee, feigning injuries and trying to pick fights. But then, in the 93rd minute the substitute Uribe let fly with a 30-yard volley. Pickford’s flying save was exceptional but it was Yerry Mina against Harry Maguire at the resultant corner: Colombia’s tallest player against England’s.<doc-sep>The knock-out match proved a bigger draw than England's group games - more than 18 million watched the matches against Tunisia and Belgium at their peaks, while 14 million saw the win over Panama.<doc-sep>JORDAN PICKFORD'S water bottle may have helped England break their World Cup penalty jinx. TV footage emerged last night appearing to show it contained notes on the neck which may have indicated which way each Colombian was planning to place their spot-kicks. 9 Jordan Pickford's water bottle appeared to contain notes on the neck which could have told him where Colombia's players were likely to send their penalties Credit: ITV 9 This zoomed-in image shows there was clearly writing of some sort on the neck of Jordan Pickford's water bottle Credit: ITV Pickford, 24, is shown hiding the bottle under a towel ahead of the shootout. And it is unclear whether he used this drinks container during the game or if it was switched prior to penalties. Pickford witnessed a similar ruse last summer during the European Under-21s semi-final defeat to Germany when rival goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck pulled a “cheat sheet” from his sock. Ex-Man Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster famously used an iPad at Wembley to help him to save two Tottenham penalties during the 2009 Carling Cup victory. Dramatic moment Jordan Pickford saves long range shot from Mateus Uribe during England against Colombia at World Cup 9 The England keeper was seeing holding the drinks bottle before the nerve-shredding shootout Credit: ITV 9 Jordan Pickford was the hero in the shootout, saving Carlos Bacca's penalty Credit: ITV England goal keeper Jack Butland talks about how you save penalties at the World Cup Latest World Cup news UP FOR THE CUP World Cup could be held every TWO years after Fifa backs controversial plans EURO BLOW Southgate fears Super League will hurt England plans with players facing BANS BEST OF REST Messi & Ronaldo among European Super League best XI facing BAN from World Cup EUR OUT European Super League players could be BANNED from World Cups and national teams FOOTIE FEST Eden Park to stage 2023 Women’s World Cup opener with final set for Australia YOUR TIMO'S UP Watch Chelsea’s Werner miss SITTER in shock Germany loss to North Macedonia Notes on a water bottle is a tip used by Maddie Hinch, the goalkeeper of the victorious Olympic womens hockey team at Rio 2016. She taped a note to her water bottle as she saved FOUR Dutch penalties as Team GB won gold 2-0 in the shootout, after a 3-3 draw in nornal time. Southgate is understood to have chatted with Danny Kerry, Team GB's hockey coach, and swapped notes and thoughts on various techniques and details. 9 Hinch is congratulated by her team-mates after her shootout brilliance Credit: AP:Associated Press 9 The secrets to Hinch's success appeared to be revealed on her water bottle Credit: Twitter Pickford revealed after the last-16 victory he had done “my research on them with the staff” and admitted Colombian captain Falcao was the “only one that really didn’t go the way we thought”. The Everton keeper had even identified Carlos Bacca - whose spot-kick he saved - as the weak link in their line-up. He said: "I trusted my instinct and went that way with strong hands — I’m happy. "We looked at his [Bacca] penalties with the penalty grid and they are all over the shop really. Jordan Pickford celebrates like Ronaldo after England World Cup penalty heroics against Colombia 9 Jordan Pickford helped send England to a last-eight clash with Sweden Credit: EPA 9 Eric Dier and Jordan Pickford were the stars of the show in tense penalty shootout against Colombia Credit: Getty Images "One is top left, one is top right, but I just thought No 4 is a pressure penalty. "Then with the fifth penalty he’s got to score to stay in it. I thought ‘I’m going right here’ and bang!" England goalkeeping coach Margetson is a former Wales international keeper, and was appointed by Southgate's predecessor Sam Allardyce. 9 Goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson works with England's keepers in St Petersburg Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Margetson, 46, had been part of Wales manager Chris Coleman's backroom staff at the 2016 European Championships. He played one game for Wales, a friendly against Canada in 2005. Margetson was released from Everton's backroom staff when Allardyce left at the end of last season.<doc-sep>Colombians called for calm last night after two players who missed penalties against England suffered insults and threats from furious fans on social media. Messages targeting Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca started to appear within minutes of Colombia being knocked out of the World Cup following the dramatic shootout. Uribe’s penalty hit the crossbar while Bacca’s attempt was saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. England's Jordan Pickford stops Colombia's Carlos Bacca's shot during the penalty shootout (Getty) (Getty Images) The posts, mostly aimed at Bacca, who fans thought took the worse penalty, warned the players they were “dead”, urged them to kill themselves and told them not to return to the South American country. The sinister messages were made despite a police investigation into early death threats made towards Colombian player Carlos Sanchez after he was sent off three minutes into the team’s World Cup opener against Japan. Many outraged football fans pointed out that yesterday was the 24th anniversary of the death of Andres Escobar, who was shot dead after his own goal was blamed for sending Colombia home at the 1994 World Cup. Mateus Uribe reacts after missing to score a penalty kick next to England's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (AFP/Getty Images) One post by Twitter user David Castaneda warned: “Die Carlos Bacca. Son of a bitch. No-one wants you, gonorrhoea. To this country you don’t return.” Another, Jhon Duqueismo, wrote: “Thank you to all the players, except to three-time son of a bitch, useless, dead, Carlos Bacca. Don’t come back here.” HumorFPCosky wrote: “I hate you Carlos Bacca, I hate all of you, I hate your indifference, your animal surname, and your ass’s game. You’re worse than a cancer, at least with cancer you can go to a doctor and find out what you have. “Carlos Bacca, get depressed and kill yourself, so you don’t continue living this agony.” Colombia players react after losing a penalty shootout against England (EPA) Patricio wrote: “Uribe, you are a piece of s***, I hope you die.” Another user, INFINITO wrote: “That was Mateus Uribe’s last game, that man is already dead.” Wilson.Gomes wrote: “Get out of the country or the drugs cartels will eat you alive, you DISGRACE” One Twitter user, victorzamo01, wrote: “Bastard bacca I hope that you die.” Another, Amro_maldini posted a picture of drug lord Pablo Escobar on Carlos Bacca’s Twitter account and the words “you are next”. ✕ ITV pundits celebrate after England beat Colombia in World Cup last 16 clash But other Colombian fans expressed their shock at the cruel messages. Brayan Sanchez wrote: “Don’t wish for the death of Bacca and Uribe. Do we wish to repeat what happened to Andres Escobar? Is this Colombia? Games are won and lost, we are a real country.” Another, Lois Lane, said: “The anniversary of the death of Andres Escobar and you are calling for the death of Bacca. I’m sorry, I can’t stand such s*** people. Get out of my timeline.” And MoreJuanSe wrote: “Now they start to insult and threaten Uribe and Bacca. Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of the death of Andres Escobar, please, please! Let’s learn how to lose as well.” Escobar, 27, was gunned down by a gangland figure 10 days after his mistake against the US knocked Colombia out of the World Cup hosted in the USA. England vs Colombia penalty shootout Show all 35 1 /35 England vs Colombia penalty shootout England vs Colombia penalty shootout England celebrate after winning the penalty shootout AP England vs Colombia penalty shootout Colombia and England players during the penalty shootout REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Radamel Falcao scored the first penalty for Colombia REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout Harry Kane scored England's first REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout England players react REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Juan Cuadrado scored Colombia's second penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Marcus Rashford scores England's second penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Luis Muriel scored Colombia's third penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Luis Muriel celebrates scoring REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Colombia's team players react AFP/Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Henderson has his penalty saved Reuters England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Henderson reacts after missing a penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Mateus Uribe took Colombia's fourth and hit the bar EPA England vs Colombia penalty shootout Mateus Uribe reacts after he missed REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Kieran Trippier scored England's fourth penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Kieran Trippier celebrating scoring Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Pickford saves the fifth penalty from Carlos Bacca Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Pickford saves Carlos Bacca's penalty REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout Eric Dier scores England's fifth penalty, winning them the shootout Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout REUTERS England vs Colombia penalty shootout David Ospina reacts after losing AP England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Pickford reacts during the penalty shootout EPA England vs Colombia penalty shootout England's players celebrate after they defeated Colombia AP England vs Colombia penalty shootout Luis Muriel and Radamel Falcao commiserate with a team mate after defeat PA England vs Colombia penalty shootout England players race to Jordan Pickford Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout Jordan Pickford is mobbed by teammates Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout England's players celebrate after winning the penalty shootout AFP/Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout PA England vs Colombia penalty shootout Colombia react after losing EPA England vs Colombia penalty shootout AFP/Getty Images England vs Colombia penalty shootout Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard celebrate winning the penalty shootout REUTERS Hours before the showdown with England in Moscow, Escobar’s brother, Sachi, told of his fears another player could be killed if Colombia failed to get through to the quarter-finals, warning the country “had not learned the lessons” of the tragedy.<doc-sep>
All the numbers were against England going into the penalty shootout against Colombia. England: three defeats from three World Cup shootouts; six defeats in seven shootouts in major tournaments. And with a 14% win percentage, the worst of any national team with more than five shootouts to their name. England also conceded a late equaliser in normal time. Statistically, teams that score the final goal take momentum into the shootout and are more likely to win it. Oh, and Colombia took the first penalty, which increases their chance of success. So now we know for sure that this edition of the World Cup cares little for precedent. Make no mistake, this shootout success belongs to Gareth Southgate. He is unlike every England coach who has faced a penalty shootout in the past: the only one to have missed a penalty for England, and the only one to accept that the penalty shootout is not a lottery; that taking penalties is about performing a skill under pressure; and that penalties can be trained. Not for him the arrogance, incompetence or fatalism of England coaches past. “You can never recreate on the training ground the circumstances of the shootout,” said Glenn Hoddle in 1998. “When it comes to the pressure we are not good,” said Sven-Göran Eriksson in 2006. “You can’t reproduce the tired legs. You can’t reproduce the pressure,” said Roy Hodgson in 2012. Southgate turned the trauma of his own experience in 1996 into a vindication of five months’ work preparing for the prospect of a shootout. Funny how we heard similar excuses from the Spain coach Fernando Hierro – “it’s a lottery and we were unlucky” – and Denmark’s Åge Hareide – “unfortunately it was decided by a lottery” – after their shootout defeats at the weekend. Southgate talked to his players about owning the process, and he worked on the players’ individual technique and team dynamics. He even recreated “the tired legs”, with Kieran Trippier admitting that players had “practised and practised and practised” penalties, taking spot-kicks while fatigued at the end of long sessions. Twenty-eight years of World Cup penalty hurt and all it needed was a bit of practice. Who would have thought it? Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks. Once extra time was over, it was clear that everyone knew their roles. When Southgate addressed the players in a huddle, he was not asking for volunteers, which many coaches do – Hierro included – and was how Southgate himself ended up, reluctantly, taking a penalty in 1996. (In my eyes, this is an abdication of the coach’s responsibility, as the coach should know the players’ ability to cope with what’s called “competition anxiety” better than the players themselves). When the referee Mark Geiger addressed the two goalkeepers before the shootout, Jordan Pickford pulled himself up to maximum height; before every penalty he jumped to touch the crossbar, as though reminding his opponents that he might be taller than he looks. Pickford also handed the ball to each England player on his way to the spot. This is owning the process, and ensured that David Ospina would not disrupt any players’ routine by making them walk to get the ball. David Ospina saves Jordan Henderson’s penalty. Photograph: Quality Sport Images/Getty Images Every England player struck his penalty using the goalkeeper-independent method: they picked their spot and trusted in their execution. The four who scored all went to their natural side, generating enough power (and in the case of Trippier, height), that the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop them, even though he dived the right way. Only Jordan Henderson kicked to his non-natural side. It was noticeable that England players waited at least one extra second, and in some cases more than that, before taking their penalties. In the past, England had the quickest reaction time of any national team from the referee blowing his whistle to the player starting his run-up: just 0.28 seconds. This is a sure sign of stress. In his autobiography, Southgate described his process: “All I wanted was the ball: put it on the spot, get it over and done with.” This was another lesson learned from the 1996 defeat. On Tuesday night the England players took time to compose themselves before their kicks, unlike Carlos Bacca, Colombia’s last kicker. As soon as the referee blew his whistle, Bacca began his run-up. His was the quickest reaction of any player in the shootout.