Women’s World Cup team news and build-up as Australia face France

England face Colombia in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals as the Lionesses continue their knockout campaign in Sydney.

The European champions survived a major scare against Nigeria in the last-16, and know they will need to improve when they take on a dangerous Colombia side, who shocked heavyweights Germany in the group stages.

Sarina Wiegman’s side are without star forward Lauren James, who will be suspended for the quarter-final after the 21-year-old stamped on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.

The Lionesses will know who could await them in the semi-finals before facing Colombia, as hosts Australia take on France in Brisbane. There will be a new winner of the Women’s World Cup this year after Sweden knocked out Japan on Friday, setting up a clash with Spain on the other side of the draw.

Follow live updates from the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals, and get the latest England vs Colombia odds here

Women’s World Cup: England vs Colombia latest updates

• England play Colombia in Women’s World Cup quarter-finals with kick-off at 11:30am BST

• England survived penalty shootout against Nigeria and will be without star forward Lauren James

• Lionesses forward banned for two games following stamp, with Sarina Wiegman set to make changes

• Australia face France in earlier quarter-final in Brisbane, with winner facing England or Colombia

• Sam Kerr remains on the bench as Australia name an unchanged team

• Sweden defeated Japan on Friday to set up semi-final clash with Spain on other half of the draw

Women’s World Cup: Australia vs France

06:56 , Jamie Braidwood

Sam Kerr remains on the bench for Australia for their quarter-final against France.

The striker returned to action in the 2-0 win over Denmark but is still not fit enough to play 90 minutes.

The hosts name an unchanged team from their last-16 win.

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

06:41 , Jamie Braidwood

Sarina Wiegman ahead of England’s quarter-final against Colombia:

“I hope we don’t have that much stress [as against Nigeria]. We’ve seen in this tournament not one game is easy for anyone. It’s so competitive. It’s the beauty of the game and the growth of the women’s game. I hope it’s decided before that but let’s hope it goes our way.

“Football is competitive. We have a plan and we play as smart and as aggressive as we can. We’re not making a plan to surprise Colombia. We have our style of play and we have analysed Colombia.

“This is another different game. We expect also a different performance and hopefully a good result for us. We know how we want to play but also what Colombia wants to do so we have our plan. We will try our best to win the game.”

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

06:21 , Jamie Braidwood

The semi-final line-up at the Women’s World Cup is almost complete, and there will be a new winner of the competition after Sweden knocked out 2011 champions Japan yesterday. Here are the results and knockout schedule.

Friday 11 August

QF1: Spain 2-1 Netherlands (after extra time)

QF2: Japan 1-2 Sweden

Saturday 12 August

QF3: Australia vs France (08:00, Brisbane) – ITV 1

QF4: England vs Colombia (11:30, Sydney) – ITV 1

Tuesday 15 August

SF1: Spain vs Sweden (09:00, Auckland)

Wednesday 16 August

SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4 (11:00, Sydney)

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

06:04 , Jamie Braidwood

Mary Earps on England’s defence at the World Cup, which has yet to concede a goal from open play:

“We can take a lot of pride in the work we’ve done so far in the tournament. Some of our defensive work has been fantastic as a whole team. We have more gears we can go, I really do feel that. Every game it can be over in any moment. Nigeria was a fierce contest and I’m glad we could see that out. We showed great resilience. I think it’s always a reminder but we know that. We love the game, we love playing in World Cups and we want to be here as long as possible.

“I really believe the best is yet to come. There’s so much talent in the group and so many more levels we can go. That said, I think there’s an incredible wealth of talent and experience that we’ve had together as an international team but also with the teams we play for at club-level. I think it’s an exciting time to be an England player but we have to earn that right every day. We’re constantly looking to improve, drive our performances and our standards. We’re not sitting here happy to be here – we’re not satisfied, we’re not done, there’s more levels to go.”

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

05:44 , Jamie Braidwood

Sarina Wiegman on Lauren James and how England will adjust to her absence:

“We will just play a football game. Of course there is pressure. There are two teams that are very good. It’s obvious that they want to do that too so that’s how we approach it.

“Colombia has done very well, they are a strong team and are very together. They have some powerful players and want to get the ball to their attacking players because they are unpredictable.

“Of course we have a squad of 23 and now we miss another player and we know how we want to fill in that position. It’s a team effort. We support each other.

“We prepare of course for every team and we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the team and how they show them. We also see there is a big crowd from Colombia so we have prepared for that.”

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

05:36 , Jamie Braidwood

England have been installed as the new favourites in the Women’s World Cup odds after the USA and Germany crashed out of the competition.

The Lionesses were also on the brink of an early exit, but they held their nerve to beat Nigeria on penalties in the Round of 16.

UK bookmakers are now offering 3/1 on England to lift the trophy, which leaves them ahead of Spain, Japan and France in the outright betting.

They must now navigate a tricky quarter-final clash with Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday (11.30am, ITV1).

Get the latest England vs Colombia odds here

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

05:35 , Jamie Braidwood

Sarina Wiegman is one of the best coaches in the world at figuring out a tactical problem, but even she has now wondered whether she got it right against Nigeria. After hours of analysis following the last-16 tie, the thinking has been England should have gone to a back four.

It has influenced some of the approach ahead of the quarter-final against Colombia. Wiegman and her staff are expecting a similar game, and another battle. The latter, like with Nigeria, is not to just reductively describe Colombia as a “physical” team – although that is precisely how England have been preparing. Wiegman has also been planning for the fine side the South Americans are, with special attention paid to star forward Linda Caicedo.

It is more how England are now into classic tournament football, even if it is far from the historic surge through Euro 2022. While that almost became free-wheeling at times, this has been a slog.

Preview by Miguel Delaney

England reach World Cup dividing line as Sarina Wiegman faces crunch decision

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

05:32 , Jamie Braidwood

What is the England team news?

After her red card against Nigeria, Lauren James will serve a two-match suspension and will miss England’s quarter-final against Colombia.

With England’s player of the tournament unavailable, Sarina Wiegman has a selection headache as she looks to replace the creative heartbeat of the team. James shone in the No 10 position of England’s new 3-5-2 system, with Manchester United’s Ella Toone an option.

If Wiegman continues with a back three, another option she could have is replacing James with Chloe Kelly and playing the winger and Lauren Hemp either side of striker Alessia Russo in a 3-4-3.

Keira Walsh made her return from injury in the win over Nigeria, but did not look completely comfortable in England’s new system and came off with cramp at the end of extra time. Walsh is one of England’s most important players but Katie Zelem impressed in the 6-1 win against China and could be called upon again. Another player pushing for a start is Bethany England, with Russo often left isolated against Nigeria.

England’s defence is looking settled and is unlikely to change, but three players are a booking away from being suspended from the semi-finals if England make it through. Georgia Stanway, Bronze and Hemp all come into the match on a yellow card.

Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Colombia

05:31 , Jamie Braidwood

When is England vs Colombia?

The quarter-final will be played on Saturday 12 August at Stadium Australia in Sydney, with kick-off at 11:30am UK time (BST).

How can I watch it?

It will be shown live on ITV 1 and ITV X, with coverage starting from 10:45am.

England vs Colombia: Kick-off time and how to watch on TV

Good morning

05:30 , Jamie Braidwood

Hello and welcome to today’s Women’s World Cup coverage as England face Colombia in the quarter-finals in Sydney.

The European champions survived a major scare against Nigeria in the last-16, winning a tense penalty shoot-out after playing extra time with 10 players as star forward Lauren James was sent off.

James, who has been England’s player of the tournament, will be suspended for the quarter-final after the 21-year-old stamped on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.

The Lionesses know they will need to improve when they take on a dangerous Colombia side, who shocked heavyweights Germany in the group stages and progressed to their first ever World Cup quarter-final thanks to a 1-0 win over Jamaica in the last-16.

England defender Lucy Bronze admitted the Lionesses are “not happy” with their level of performances so far, but victory against Colombia would move Sarina Wiegman’s side a step away from a place in their first ever Women’s World Cup final.

You can follow all the build-up to the World Cup quarter-final in today’s live blog.