England end 28 years of penalties hurt

On paper it was merely a round of 16 match, but for England fans, last night's win over Colombia was catharsis. An historic penalty shootout victory which enabled the release of decades of footballing frustration and pain. There was also a sense of coming full circle, a redemption of sorts for manager Gareth Southgate who famously had his penalty saved in England's Euro 96 semi final loss to Germany. Finally, after World Cup penalty exits at the hands of West Germany at Italia '90, Argentina at France '98 and Portugal at Germany '06, England won a match from 12 yards out. What began as somewhat ironic 'it's coming home' remarks earlier in the tournament are now starting to be backed up by some real belief - and why the heck not?