Pringles Preview: Odds stacked against Colombia as tough England test awaits

Colombia will square off against England in the Last 16 on Tuesday night. 

History is firmly on England's side going into the encounter as they have never lost against their South American opponents in previous meetings. 

The two countries first met in an international friendly on May 20, 1970 with England thrashing the Colombians 4-0 on the day. 

Since then, The Three Lions have been dominant over Colombia, registering three wins and two draws in their previous five meetings. 

While England lost their final match of Group G to Belgium, their rampant displays in their opening two matches were enough to see them finish second on the mini logo. 

José Pékerman's men needed a final day win over Senegal to top their group and book a place in the knockout stages of this year's tournament. 

It is for this reason football fans around the world can expect a thrilling game when these two nations come up against each other with a spot in the quarter-finals at stake. 

Although England would fancy their chances given how well they have done against the South Americans in the past, it is worth mentioning that this generation of Colombian players have done well in Europe in recent years.

James Rodriguez suffered a minor injury in their final group stage match against Senegal, but he should be fit and ready for Tuesday's encounter. 

He scored Colombia's first goal of the tournament, and his presence will no doubt give England something to worry about.

His skill, trickery and ability to score from deadball situations are what make him a special player in that Colombian side. 

Radamel Falcao is another highly-rated attacker who will be tasked with scoring goals. His aerial ability will be important, especially against the likes of John Stones and Gary Cahill whom he would know very well from his time in the English Premier League. 

England on the other hand, had Dele Alli struggling with injury, but the Tottenham Hotspur star declared himself fit and ready to start should manager Gareth Southgate name him in the starting line-up. 

However, all eyes will be on Harry Kane, who still leads the goalscoring charts with five strikes in this tournament. 

Kane stands a chance to finish as the tournament's top goalscorer, especially now that Diego Costa is returning home following Spain's penalty shoot-out loss to Russia on Sunday evening. 

There's also Romelu Lukaku in the mix, but with Kane already a goal ahead of the Belgian marksman, Tuesday's match would be pivotal for the Spurs man to extend his lead at the top.   

Nonetheless, the 2001 Concacaf Gold Cup winners have good players such as Yerry Mina among others to stop Kane from running riot on the day. 

The two teams have scored the majority of their goals from standard situations thus far, and it's likely to be the order of the day with Mina and Stones expected to push forward for Colombia and England respectively whenever their teams win corner-kicks or free-kicks in promising areas.