England's Penalty Shootout Win Against Colombia Voted Best Moment Of 2018

Trying to decide the best moment of the year is probably a much more difficult decision for those that aren't English football fans.

For those that are, it was only ever going to be a choice between two moments: England's penalty shootout win against Colombia or Kieran Trippier's free kick against Croatia.

Yep, these were chosen as the top two moments in a LADbible poll on Twitter, with the landmark shootout win ultimately emerging as the victor with 59 percent of the vote.

The very fact two highlights of England's World Cup campaign were chosen as the best moments of the year is a blessed relief.

In 2016, England's humiliating last-16 elimination against Iceland would have been a candidate for worst moment of the year. The Three Lions' dire knockout at the group stage in 2014 could easily have been chosen as the worst moment of that year.

Prior to that, we experienced heartbreak after heartbreak in penalty shootouts.

As such, just seeing an England team win on penalties was like witnessing a miracle for many.

PA

For a long period, it felt like the same old story was going to repeat itself. Gareth Southgate's men outclassed a dogged Colombia side, who managed to equalise from a corner in the dying embers of the match.

Extra time slipped away, and with it, so did hope for most England fans, who anticipated the usual death by penalties. Certainly, after Jordan Henderson's penalty was saved, almost every England fan feared the worst.

But after Colombia hit the bar and Pickford saved Bacca's firmly hit penalty in heroic fashion, Eric Dier was presented with the opportunity to secure the country's first ever penalty shootout victory at a World Cup.

Unbelievably, he drove it home, sparking rapturous scenes in pubs and living rooms up and down the land.

Having redefined the impossible, England were carried all the way to the semi-finals on an ever-growing wave of football fervour. When Trippier opened the scoring against Croatia in the fifth minute with a spectacular free-kick, belief that it was indeed 'coming home' reached an all-time high.

Sadly, we know how this story ends. But now that the dust has settled, at least we can reflect on and appreciate how joyous theses moments were. However fleeting, they gave England fans hope and pride - it was truly exhilarating.

That said, if I reflect for just a little too long, I still feel quite a lot like I want to cry.

Here's hoping 2019 is slightly less emotional.

Topics: UK News, Football

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey