MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Team England is not under any pressure of being obliged to reach the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and is doing its work advancing to next rounds of the world championship, England’s defender Kieran Trippier told TASS.
Team England completed its list of the quarterfinalists at the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Colombia at the Spartak Arena in Moscow on Tuesday night after the 1-1 draw during regular time of the closing match in the round of Last 16.
Asked by a TASS correspondent whether the team was feeling under the gun to reach the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the 27-year-old player of Tottenham Hotspur FC replied that "there is no pressure at all."
The number of football fans donning Team Colombia’s bright yellow gear at the over 45,000-seat capacity Spartak Arena obviously surpassed the number of fans rooting for England. The audience during the July 3 night match in Moscow totaled 44,190.
"We are in together and we are improving with every game," Trippier resumed as he spoke to journalists. "Today was a very good game, they (Colombia) were incredibly talented, but we were solid in the back."
Commenting on the win over Colombia in the shootout penalty series instead of a victory in regular time, Trippier said "If you have got opportunities at this level, you need to take them."
"Be relaxed, take your time, be calm and our chance will come," he said when asked about his emotions taking a spot on the most important penalty shoot range.
England is now set to play in the quarterfinals of the world championship against Sweden in the city of Samara on July 7. The Swedish squad managed to edge past Switzerland 1-0 in another Last 16 match, played earlier in the day in St. Petersburg.
In all, 32 national football teams entered the 2018 FIFA World Cup and only 16 of them proceeded to the knockout phase after the group stage, which kicked off on June 14 and ended on June 28.
According to FIFA’s official statistics, the total number of fans at all stadiums during 48 matches of the group stage came to 2,178,894 people, which carries an average of 45,394 at each match.
The national teams, which cleared the round of Last 16, are hosts Russia, Croatia, Uruguay, France, Brazil, Belgium, Sweden and England.