England national team defender John Stones stated that Colombia demonstrates the weakest football out of all the teams he has ever played against.
Jose Pekerman's players in the World Cup quarterfinal match against the "three lions" team chose a very unconventional tactic by substituting three defensive midfielders.
The opponents played extremely tough against the English throughout the match and tried to provoke them, but Gareth Southgate's team ultimately triumphed after a penalty shootout.
"The match was very strange," Stones said.
"(Colombia - ed. note) is probably the weakest team I have ever played against. When we earned the penalty shootout, they surrounded the referee and even pushed him."
"I'm sure everyone saw the headbutt attempt (by Wilmar Barrios to provoke Jordan Henderson), the trampling of the penalty spot, and many other things off the ball that I'm sure you haven't heard of."
"All those things that you truly don't hear about in a football match. In turn, we showed great character, kept our cool heads, and didn't get involved in their game."
"When you play against a team that wants to push you around and knock you out of rhythm, sometimes you can get caught up in it. That's what they want."
"We stuck to our plan and played our own football."
"Having that characteristic as a team is a great sign - like seeing light at the end of a tunnel of what we want from our game plan. It was a tough situation, but we got through it and can be proud of it."
The England national team will face Sweden in the World Cup quarterfinals tomorrow.
