A Nation Erupts: England Penalty Shootout Glory Sends Shockwaves Around the Country

After the most dramatic of penalty shootouts, England are through to the quarter final stage of the World Cup in Russia after scraping past a fiery Colombia side on penalties.

Fans up and down the country have been trying to keep their expectations in check after the shock exits of first, holders Germany, and then all conquering Spain earlier this week seemingly eased the potential path that Gareth Southgate's men would need to follow in order to reach the final.

We do love a bit of hype and overreaction in this country though, so it's inevitable that we're going to get carried away right? Rightly or wrongly, one fact remained - England's last 16 clash against Colombia gave the Three Lions a chance to end 12 years of knockout round misery, with an enticing quarter final tie against Sweden the prize on offer.

The boys in Russia didn't disappoint on the drama front, with Harry Kane's second half penalty giving England a deserved lead just before the hour mark. Needless to say, reaction across the country was a touch euphoric..

Now just the simple task of seeing out the game right? Wrong.

The Colombians were edgy, they were ill disciplined but slowly started getting a foothold into the game. England laboured towards the end, and not wanting to let down the legions of fans who wanted extra-time and potential penalties, duly conceded a stoppage time goal to Yerry Mina.

Cue abject misery and quite possibly the end of the world in England...

And while we bowed our heads in utter disbelief, there were scenes of unbridled joy in many parts of South America..

And indeed, across many parts of London for that matter.

LUIS ROBAYO/GettyImages

A crushing, and potentially devastating blow to the solar plexus of England's World Cup dreams once more.

A truly torrid half an hour of extra-time came and went, as Colombia seized the initiative and momentum generated from their last gasp goal. Fortunately, most of us would say at least, the pressure didn't amount to anything, and so it came down to the lottery of penalty kicks.

For the neutral, fantastic. For the eventual winner, delirium - for the loser, tears and abject misery. See Sergio Ramos below for a fine example of this.

JUAN MABROMATA/GettyImages

The nation waited with baited breath, as Southgate's side attempted to do the unthinkable; win a penalty shootout.

One by one, the England boys stepped up, with Kane and Marcus Rashford showing supreme composure to bury their efforts into the bottom corner. Jordan Henderson was not to be so lucky however, as old Arsenal adversary David Ospina plunged to his left to palm his penalty away.

Advantage Colombia - except they hadn't read the script of how this usually goes, and nor had England. Mateus Urebe hit the bar, before Jordan Pickford superbly clawed away Carlos Bacca's fifth and final effort.

And so it was all on Eric Dier's shoulders, with the Spurs utility man charged with sending England through in the most dramatic of circumstances.

I think this may give you an idea of what happened.

A night of ridiculous tension, unparalleled drama and an ending that England supporters could not have dreamt of in their wildest dreams.

A sign that it's coming home? Maybe, just maybe. Expect many more thrills and spills between now and the end of the tournament though, as the most dramatic World Cup in recent memory keeps on dishing out the goodies.