England players have created their own history: Southgate
England won the World Cup round of 16 game at the Spartak Stadium beating Colombia 4-3 on penalties to reach the quarterfinals. The score was 1-1 after 90 minutes. It is the first time that England has won a penalty shootout in World Cup history.
Southgate said at a post-match press conference on Tuesday that the victory was a really important moment reports Xinhua news agency.
"Not just winning the shootout but having to suffer at the end of the game in a stadium there were huge numbers of Colombian fans and we felt like an away fixture. Tonight we showed we don t have to conform to what s gone before. We have created our own history and I don t want to go home yet " he said.
Southgate also hopes the result will give belief to "generations of (English) players that will follow". The coach revealed that his team has prepared for a penalty shootout situation.
"We d talked about owning the process and we got the rewards tonight. We looked at individual techniques and how we needed to be as a team. The goalkeepers have been very important in that as well " the 47-year-old coach said.
After defeating Colombia England will face Sweden in the quarterfinals on July 7 in Samara and winners of that match will play either Russia or Croatia on July 11.
Southgate said the match against Sweden will be difficult.
"Sweden is another team we have a poor record against who we ve underestimated in the past. We know exactly how they play and it s going to be a real tough test " he said.
--IANS ajb/mr