The coach of the England national team, Gareth Southgate, stated in a press conference prior to the round of 16 match of the 2018 World Cup against Colombia that he has total respect for the Colombian team coach, Argentine José Pekerman.
In regards to this, the coach of the "Three Lions" commented the following about his counterpart in the Colombian team: "He is a coach with a lot of experience and I have absolute respect for him".
Likewise, Southgate emphasized that he expects that Pekerman's tactics and lineup will present a tough challenge for him and his players, especially considering the possible absence of James Rodríguez: "Without James, the left wing profile will change, but Colombia has players who are very good. We have studied their World Cup matches and previous games, and their style of play remains consistent, as in the past, but we know which aspects of their style of play we can exploit".
However, Gareth Southgate commented that the opportunities that the Colombian team will have will depend on the spaces that England may give them: "Japan, Poland, and Senegal have offered different spaces. Against Japan, Colombia recovered excellently with one player less. They punished Poland when they left open spaces, so we have to be extremely sharp without the ball; if we're not, Colombia could hurt us a lot".
And he concluded by adding: "We have to be prepared for possible counterattacks because they have players who can damage our opponents".