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Must-win for Colombia, draw's enough for England
LENS, France (AP) -- Colombia confronts a win or bust situation, while England needs only a draw to reach the last 16 of the World Cup, in their final Group G match tomorrow (3 p.m. EDT, TSN).But it is England manager Glenn Hoddle rather than his opposite number Hernan Dario Gomez who has the biggest headache in a story of twists and turns.
Hoddle's hopes of England glory went soaring following an opening 2-0 victory over Tunisia with goals from captain reliable Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes. Gomez, in contrast, suffered pre-tournament torture after sending home star striker Faustino Asprilla for disciplinary reasons, a decision which became even more difficult to defend when his team subsequently fell 1-0 to Romania.
But all that changed Monday when England's bubble burst in a 2-1 loss to an attacking Romania and Colombia's confidence took off with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia.
This left England and Colombia fighting for second place behind the Romanians, or the winner even qualifying as group leader in the unlikely event of Romania losing big to Tunisia.
England's setback against Romania was damaging psychologically, but more importantly an ankle injury threatens to sideline Paul Ince, the bustling midfielder who says his favorite sound is the crunch of a tackle.
Significantly, Romania did not get onto the scoreboard before 30-year-old Ince limped off with injured ankle ligaments, and he is a key constituent in the backbone of the England team with his defensive qualities and surging runs. David Beckham, who came on as a substitute against Romania, is more effective in an attacking role than Ince but lacks his biting tackling.
Colombia is back on solid footing after the loss to Romania and the week-long crisis involving Asprilla. The Colombians' victory against Tunisia came on a late goal by second-half substitute by Leider Preciado.
While Colombia struggled to regain its form, England fell to Romania after several glaring defensive lapses.
In his team's last practice, Gomez stressed speed and the aerial attack, England's two main weapons.
Colombia will start 10 of the 11 regulars used against Tunisia. Antonio Moreno will start for defender Jose Fernando Santa, who has two yellow cards.
As for England, central defender Gary Neville is likely to keep his role as stand-in for Gareth Southgate, who is still battling against a knee injury.
Up front, Hoddle is under strong pressure to give a starting role to 18-year-old Michael Owen as Alan Shearer's strike partner instead of 31-year-old Teddy Sheringham.
Hoddle has been nursing the precocious talents of Owen, but now seems ready to let the Liverpool teenager off the leash. Owen came on as substitute for the last five minutes of England's opener against Tunisia and then replaced Sheringham in the 77th minute against Romania.
Owen responded by equalizing six minutes after coming on and then followed up with a fierce drive in injury time which would have earned England a draw if the ball had not hit the woodwork.
Hoddle has indicated Owen will be in the starting lineup today, saying his build-up had been pre-planned.
"I've always felt that it would be possible that Michael would start against Colombia whatever happened," Hoddle said. "Even before we got to the tournament, I felt that Colombia played very square at the back, with a flat four, and against that sort of system is where Michael's pace can be so useful for us.
"He's come on and scored against Romania and so now if we start him his confidence is going to be sky-high."
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan