There are two ways of looking at England's 1-0 defeat by Belgium. Finishing second in Group H meant that on Tuesday, England plays Colombia with the prospect of either Switzerland or Sweden for the winner. Group winner Belgium meets Japan on Monday and the winner of that game faces Brazil or Mexico.

The general feeling in England is that Colombia is a better team than Japan, but no one wants to play Brazil, though pitting your wits against the most successful country in World Cup history should surely be the dream for every player?

So, for England it's Colombia, Sweden or Switzerland to reach the World Cup semifinals. That'll do nicely. Bring them on. Losing to Belgium did England a favor. Really?