Losing to Colombia will be a massive disappointment for the Lionesses

England scraped past Nigeria and now have a chance to book their place in the 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-final but Colombia won’t be pushovers.

Former Lioness, Lianne Sanderson spoke to us ahead of the seismic World Cup fixture, outlining her expectations, the players who will be key and why a loss to Colombia will be a massive disappointment.

Losing To Colombia Will Be A Massive Disappointment

The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker made it clear that losing to Colombia would be a major blow as Sarina Wiegman’s team have the quality to at least be in the semi-finals of the tournament.

“If we were to lose against Colombia, I think they’ll see that as a massive disappointment. Massive disappointment. I don’t want to say failure as I didn’t like that as a player when I played but I get that. It’ll be massively disappointing because the pressure is there.”

She adds that losing in the semi-finals to either Australia or France would be respectable but also believes that England have it in them to go all the way.

“If we were to beat Colombia and lose to either of Australia or France, I’d say that it would be fair to a certain degree. I want us to win and go all the way but I think that’s a respectful thing. Especially Australia as they’re the hosts.”

“We’ve seen loads of teams out early, Brazil, Germany, Canada. France were close to elimination had other results not gone their way. The USWNT is out and nobody expected that.”

“You have to have a little bit of luck in this game. I didn’t think England were necessarily the favourites in this tournament considering the other teams but now, the way things are going, the path is definitely clearer for England to make that final.”

“But if we lose to Colombia, I think it will be a massive disappointment. Massive disappointment.”

I’d Bring In Katie Zelem To Replace Lauren James

The Nigeria game saw a moment of madness from Lauren James, whose stomp on Michelle Alozie saw the Chelsea star getting a straight red and being suspended for two games.

Sarina Wiegman now has a selection conundrum ahead of England vs Colombia, and Sanderson thinks bringing in Katie Zelem would be the best option despite Ella Toone being the natural replacement for James. Sanderson admits that bringing in Zelem would be a defensive move, but it’s something she would prefer.

“England have done really well playing with this three-at-the-back in the last two games, against China and Nigeria. Even against Nigeria, I felt like it worked.”

“Naturally, you replace Lauren James with Ella Toone, but then I think with the way Katie Zelem came into the lineup with Keira Walsh injured, potentially she could come in there because Sarina’s got that conundrum of having to deal with another player out through a red card.”

“She dealt with the Walsh conundrum really well. Laura Coombs came in against Denmark, and Katie Zelem then came in against China.”

The former Portland Thorns star also notes that Toone can be a very strong option from the bench. Another change she can envision is Chloe Kelly starting and Rachel Daly going into a more defensive role.

“Ella Toone coming off the bench can be really impactful. She didn’t come on in the game against Nigeria, which was surprising. Or we could see Chloe Kelly starting, and Rachel Daly pushed further back, onto the left back again.”

“Sarina Wiegman has tinkered a lot in this tournament. In the Euros, she didn’t change any players throughout the whole thing, but I think her hand has been forced during this tournament based on injuries and this red card. So it’s either going to be Chloe Kelly for me or Katie Zelem.”

Keira Walsh And Chloe Kelly Will Be Key For England

Sanderson named Keira Walsh and Chloe Kelly as players who’ll be extremely important for the Lionesses in this matchup.

She sees Walsh as the one to keep Colombia’s star player, Linda Caicedo, at bay and also dictate the tempo.

“Keira Walsh will play a massive role against Colombia. It was great to see her get through 120 minutes. Unbelievable, really.”

“The fact that she can play again and is available again is a game-changer. I think the midfield will be massive in this game. I don’t think our midfield was that good against Haiti and Denmark. I don’t think they got on the ball enough.”

She also earmarked Chloe Kelly as England’s big-game player citing her winning moment at the Euros and also her decisive penalty against Nigeria.

Sanderson adds that England will need to maximise the individual talent that they have at hand to effectively beat Colombia.

“Chloe Kelly knows how to step up when we need her the most. She’s a good weapon to come off the bench.”

“We have to be comfortable on the ball and play our game, play through them. They’ve got individuals we know. Linda Caicedo has been fantastic. But so do England.”

“We have to make sure to maximise individual talent. It’s been more of a team effort. If England goes all the way, one or two players will feature in the best XI of the tournament, but if you look at it, there’s not been any individuals except Lauren James, who have been absolutely amazing. But I don’t think we’ve seen that with a lot of the nations.”

The former England star concludes that if England plays their way as they did against China, Colombia shouldn’t cause that much of an issue.

“If England turn up and play their game like they did against China, I think they’ll be okay. Other than that, the performances haven’t been anywhere near the levels we know the team can play at.”

“At the back, we need to be a bit more relaxed like we were against China, but that was also because they weren’t pressing us. Colombia will press, so we have to figure out how to break it.”

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