FIFA World Cup 2018: England face first major test against Colombia in Round of 16; Sweden, Switzerland eye quarters

With football heavyweights dropping out of the World Cup left and right, Monday’s knockout matches restored some balance but not without their fair share of drama. Neymar avoided the fate of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by helping Brazil defeat Mexico with a goal and an assist. In the second match, a five-goal thrilling second half saw Belgium come back from two goals down to find an injury-time winner against Japan.

On Tuesday, the final round of the last-16 matches will be played to decide which teams get the last two quarter-final berths. Sweden play Switzerland at Saint Petersburg in the early match while England take on Colombia at Moscow’s intimate Spartak Stadium later in the day. Here’s a look at what you can expect on Tuesday at the World Cup in Russia: Round of 16: Sweden vs Switzerland (7.30 pm) When Harry Kane takes the field for England on Tuesday, it will be his first match in nine days. He’s still the leading scorer at the World Cup with five goals. Meanwhile, Colombia forward James Rodriguez — the top scorer in Brazil four years ago — hasn’t found the net, and it’s not certain if he will get a chance to change that against England because of a calf injury. England took their foot off the accelerator after the opening two matches, resting Kane and seven other regulars in a group match against Belgium that only mattered for either side because it determined who they’d play next. The subject of fan debate for England has been whether coach Gareth Southgate did the right thing by taking it easy against Belgium because it put England in what looks to be the better half of the knockout draw. The winner of Colombia-England gets the Sweden-Switzerland victor in the quarter-finals, and then a semi-final looms against Croatia or Russia. The other half of the draw includes the fearsome quartet of Brazil, France, Uruguay and Belgium. Kane scored both of England’s goals in a 2-1 win over Tunisia and added a hat-trick as the Three Lions humiliated Panama 6-1. Kane is in a good position to clinch the Golden Boot for the tournament’s top scorer if England progress further in Russia. Kane has 13 goals in nine games under Southgate and 11 in his seven appearances as England’s captain. For all the talk about England’s progress under Gareth Southgate, his youthful side have yet to be truly examined in this World Cup but Tuesday’s last-16 opponents Colombia will certainly ask the right questions. The two sides have met five times, with three wins for England and two draws. Their only competitive match was at the 1998 World Cup, when England won 2-0. Their most recent match was a 3-2 win for England in 2005. Round of 16: Colombia vs England (11.30 pm) In a group with Mexico and Germany, it was Sweden that came out on top. The Swedes bounced back from Toni Kroos’ injury-time winner for Germany to beat Mexico 3-0 while the defending champions did themselves in by losing to South Korea. Sweden are looking to make the quarter-finals for the first time since 1994, when they ultimately finished third. The Zlatan Ibrahimovic-free team lacks individual stars — veteran captain Andreas Granqvist is the leading scorer with two goals — and has built their identity on rugged defence, with clean sheets against both Mexico and South Korea. Switzerland had one of the most emotional victories of the group stage, rallying past Serbia 2-1 with goals from Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, both ethnic Albanians with roots in Kosovo who celebrated their goals by making an Albanian nationalist symbol. Serbia doesn’t recognize the independence of Kosovo, a former province, and the players were fined for their gestures. Against Sweden, the Swiss won’t have captain Stephan Lichtsteiner or fellow defender Fabian Schaer, each of whom has two yellow cards. That could be a problem for a team that has twice conceded the opening goal in Russia. The Swiss have only lost one match in the past two years, with 15 wins and four draws during that stretch. But Switzerland haven’t made the World Cup quarter-finals since 1954. The European rivals have faced each other 27 times, with both winning 10 games each and seven ending in a draw, including their most recent meeting in a friendly international in 2002 and their last competitive meeting at the European Championships in 1995. With inputs from agencies Click here for full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2018  Click here to view the full schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018