England delight after historic World Cup penalty shoot-out win

England conceded a late late equalizer in their World Cup last 16 match against Colombia but managed to bounce back with what was a historic first penalty shoot-out win - after decades of despair, also for their manager Gareth Southgate Moscow (dpa) - Manager Gareth Southgate readily admitted he would never get over his own miss but was relieved more than anything else that he has now managed England to a first penalty shoot-out win at a World Cup.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford got some help from the crossbar against Mateus Uribe and then saved from Carlos Bacca before Eric Dier ended England's curse from the spot on a memorable night in Moscow, 4-3 over Colombia.
The small contingent of England fans in Moscow's Spartak Stadium stayed until well after midnight to celebrate the moment of glory from a young team that did better than several generations in the past. England had lost all three previous shoot-outs at the World Cup, against Germany, Argentina and Portugal; and had also won just one of its four at Euros.
It was at the continental tournament 1996 at Wembley that Southgate had his personal nightmare, missing England's only spot-kick in the semi-finals against Germany, a miss that ended England's biggest chance to date to win a second major title following the 1966 World Cup.
"It will never be off my back, sadly," he said. "But today is a special moment for this team which gives belief to generations of players of what is possible. "We have fantastic supporters who had to stand with us for decades of disappointment. It is really special for our country." Harry Kane and young Marcus Rashford converted early in the shoot-out before Jordan Handerson's tame effort was saved by David Ospina. But England were undeterred and back on track from Kieran Trippier before Dier wrapped up matters after Colombia faltered.
"I am crying. Yes, yes, yes," twetted England icon Gary Lineker in delight. Southgate's team had shown big composure when Yerry Mina cancelled out Kane's lead from a first-half penalty deep into stoppage time.
England where briefly shocked but then found into the game again, also shaking off a cynical approach by Colombia who had six players booked and constantly argued with American referee Mark Geiger. "I am really proud with the way we played. We controlled the game almost 90 minutes. We had to keep the discipline. It was a cruel blow in the 90th minute. But we had resilience and the belief to get over the line whatever it takes," Southgate said.
Kane, who equalled Lineker's six goals at one World Cup from 1986 and also became the first England player since 1939 to score in six consecutive games, was also over the moon. "I am so proud, there are so many emotions. It shows our character. It is a big night for England," the Tottenham forward said.
"We have grown up a lot on the pitch tonight. We were behind and England haven't done great in the past. It is good to get that off our back. Kane also said the historic shoot-out win, and first in a knock-out since 2006, win could boost the team for Saturday's quarter-final against Sweden.
"It gives us huge belief - winning a knock-out and a shoot-out ticked all the boxes and gives us more belief than ever," he said. The last word however belonged to Southgate: "You don't always get what you deserve in life but tonight we did."