England meet Colombia in the last 16 of the World Cup this evening and once again Bet Victor brand ambassador Michael Owen –almost 20 years to the day since he scored that World Cup goal in Saint-Etienne against Argentina – shares his thoughts on the tie with The Northern Echo.

I suggested pre-tournament that reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup would be par for England in the competition – had the Three Lions been eliminated earlier then it would have been unsatisfactory.

The way the tournament has worked out, however, I now believe anything less than reaching the final of the 2018 World Cup would be a shade disappointing for Gareth Southgate’s side and am firmly of the opinion that England can go all the way to the final.

Colombia - make no mistake - are a good side but they are sweating on the fitness of 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez and I feel England will just shade what I expect to be a close game with the first goal crucial.

Yerry Mina scored in the last two group games and this tall central defender needs to be watched carefully at set-pieces. That said I expect Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling to cause problems aplenty and I feel England will come out of the traps hard and fast.

The vast majority of the Three Lions side have not played for well over a week and they will be fit and raring to go. This is a big game for Sterling who continues to divide opinion but I hope he can come of age as an England player in Moscow tonight.

It is unlikely that we will ever have a better chance of at least making it through to the final but we cannot and must not get ahead of ourselves.

Colombia will also believe they have a fantastic opportunity to go deep into the tournament and if, as expected, their talisman James is passed fit, they will provide a stern test, but one that I hope and expect England to pass.

Michael’s recommendations: England to win and both teams to score at 9/2; Raheem Sterling to score anytime at 5/2.