MOSCOW, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday sees the last two games of the last-16 phase of the World Cup finals as Colombia play England, while Sweden take on Switzerland for a place in the quarterfinals: here are some things to keep an eye out for on what promises to be another fascinating day of football at the World Cup.
1 Can Colombia survive without James?
James Rodriguez is an injury doubt for Colombia ahead of their game against England. The top scorer of the 2014 World Cup had to leave the pitch in the first half of his side's win over Senegal in their last match and has struggled with a muscle problem all tournament. If James plays and is fit, his creativity is key to Colombia and if he misses it all the responsibility it will be down to wide players Juan Cuadrado and Juan Quintero, whose set pieces have been a key weapon for Colombia so far in Russia.
2 Will England regain momentum?
A lot of the debate over Gareth Southgate's nine team changes against Belgium was over whether a defeat would see England lose the momentum their World Cup campaign had picked up after wins over Tunisia and Panama. Harry Kane and the rest of the starters from the first two games will be back against Colombia, and this is the question everyone in England is asking: can they pick up where they left off against Panama? If they can, Southgate will be a hero, but if not, he can prepare for criticism.
3 Sweden to push on?
Sweden's World Cup has been a strange one so far: lucky to beat South Korea with a penalty in their first game, unlucky to lose to a 95th minute goal against Germany and totally convincing to destroy Mexico 3-0 in their last match. When the Swedes opened up against Mexico they played their best football of the tournament, so will they look to be positive against the Swiss, after seeing how Costa Rica made them suffer, or will we see a more cautious approach with the quarterfinal just a game away?
4 Swiss to spread their wings?
The Swiss have made their way into the last 16 almost under the radar as if people continue to not take them seriously as a football nation. However, the team made up from players from a wealth of ethnic backgrounds has shown unity and tenacity on their way into the knockout stage and are perhaps slight favorites to reach the quarterfinals. They were surprised by an aggressive Costa Rica in their last match and will miss the suspended defensive duo of Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schar, but will once again look to Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami to work hard in the engine room while hoping that Xerdan Shaqiri will provide inspiration in attack.
