Big guns stand ready to roar

England edges Colombia in dramatic penalty shootout to complete quarterfinal bracket

MOSCOW－England became the last team to qualify for the World Cup quarterfinals after a nail-biting penalty shootout on Tuesday, as Brazil and France trained their sights on their last-eight opponents.

England's victory over Colombia sends Gareth Southgate's team into what looks like a winnable match against Sweden, which edged Switzerland 1-0 earlier on Tuesday.

Both teams are in the bottom half of the draw in Russia, along with the host nation and Croatia, with England the only former winner of the four teams.

The top half contains more heavyweights, with 1998 champion France taking on two-time winner Uruguay and five-time champion Brazil set to face Belgium.

Eric Dier's spot-kick gave England its first-ever win on penalties at a World Cup on the fourth attempt－ending a decades-long jinx.

But Southgate said he was already looking forward to Saturday's quarterfinal against Sweden in Samara, with a last-four clash against either Croatia or Russia up for grabs.

"This was special, but I want us to go on," said Southgate, whose penalty miss saw England lose to Germany in the Euro 96 semifinals at Wembley.

"Sweden is another team we have a poor record against. We have underestimated them for years. They have created their own story and made history. I don't want to go home yet."

Janne Andersson's Sweden has recovered well from a heartbreaking group-stage loss to Germany, seeing off Mexico before edging Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16.

RB Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg grabbed the only goal of a tight encounter midway through the second half to send his country into the quarters for the first time since 1994.