England v Columbia World Cup Tips: Back Lionesses to battle through

• England have only put in one convincing display so far

• Lionesses without LJ

• Columbia will pose a significant challenge

England v Columbia
Saturday 12 August, 11:30

England's quest to add World Cup glory to their Euro success little over 12 months ago takes them to Sydney this weekend, where they will take on a Columbia side with experience of causing an upset or two already in this competition.

With Germany, Brazil and reigning champions USA already out of the tournament, England are now 11/43.75 to go all the way.

Confidence doesn't lead to convincing display

Sarina Wiegman's side will have gone into Monday's Last 16 game against Nigeria full of hope and optimism, buoyed not only by their performance against China but also the return to the starting XI of Keira Walsh.

That confidence, however, did not translate to a stellar showing on the pitch, with England wasteful in possession and second best in may areas of the game.

Creating clear-cut chances proved to be a problem for The Lionesses and with their opponents finding it far too easy to get in behind their backline, we may well see Wiegman revert to the 4-2-3-1 system that served the side so well during the Euros, this weekend.

LJ has a lot to learn

Lauren James has received nothing but plaudits for her involvement in the group phase of this showpiece event but a moment of idiocy from the 21-year-old against Nigeria served as a timely reminder of her inexperience, maybe even naivety on the biggest stage of all.

Whilst she struggled to have any real influence on the game, tempering her frustrations is something she clearly still needs to learn to do. She will take a lot from the experience of what happened against Nigeria though and after reflecting on the incident, I'm sure she will grow and learn from it.

En route to Euro 2022 glory, England had the luxury of naming an unchanged side throughout the campaign, but now another selection headache lies ahead.

Sarina Wiegman will again need to shuffle the pack for Saturday's game and I expect a number of players to step up and deliver the performance level expected of them by their manager.

I'm backing Lauren Hemp to score or provide an assist at 8/52.60.

Columbia will cash in on a sloppy display

Sloppy in possession, conceding too many chances, it'd be highly unlikely that England could continue to ride their luck as they have done thus far and still add World Cup glory to their Euro 2022 success.

In contrast to England's woes, Columbia were excellent in their win over Jamaica, keeping their shape exceptionally well and playing with a great deal of urgency.

Mayra Ramirez was crucial at both ends of the pitch, impacting the game in attack and defence, she could cause England problems and is 13/27.50 to find the back of the net on Saturday.