AFTER a long and close-fought group stage many worthy competitors, such as Sweden and Colombia who grabbed a lucky third place in group D and F respectively, are progressing through to the last 16.

But some teams, like fourth-place finishers Nigeria in group D, were sent back to their hotel knowing their team competing in the Women’s World Cup was over for another four years. Their group, the so-called group of death, was always going to be a tough one for them to get beyond but they showed so much hope, moments of brilliance and passion.

I was delighted to see Colombia make it through as a top third-place team despite losing in their final game to England. We had already seen them shake fear into France earlier in the group matches and, while sometimes being a little too aggressive or keen on play-acting, they clearly have skill and again passion.

Group E proved to be a masterclass throughout nearly every game and sadly only Brazil and South Korea found themselves able to progress to the quarters. Their competition, Costa Rica, finished on a sad two points, while Spain finished on a meagre one point.

Groups D to F should certainly have proven to people that women’s football is exciting and can provide great quality. They will also hopefully have proven to people doubting more teams being included in the initial group stages that it was right to do so and that teams cannot just step up to the mark when it matters but go above and beyond all expectations.

Unfortunately the list of fixtures for the last 16 seem to suggest that a lot of teams from these groups may see their hopes of winning coming to a sudden and painful end, with teams such as Sweden finding themselves up against World Cup royalty Germany.

Not all the teams progressing from these groups can fall at this stage though, and they will make absolutely outstanding games of football to watch as the US face Colombia and Brazil face Australia. We can expect fierce competition and a show of skill, expertise and strength all round.

England find themselves up against Norway, who finished second in group B behind Germany but only on goal difference. And unless passion, hope and belief is found from England it is unlikely they will progress any further.

In England’s last game against Colombia, it seemed that something had finally clicked and they were starting to see some energy bouncing around the team but they quickly let their guard down and relaxed too much at the end, resulting in another game without a clean sheet.

To blame England’s mentality completely on the team would be wrong.

Before the Colombia game, Mark Sampsom was found saying the team didn’t like playing against South American teams because it is hard to figure out what they will do.

Yet at the same time the BBC were airing interviews with the England players saying they love the challenge that South American teams have to offer.

It certainly raises a few questions and eyebrows as to how much Sampsom really understands the team, what they need, what they thrive on and what they desire.

In fact his own passion and enthusiasm could be questioned when you compare his touchline reactions and involvement compared to most other teams’ coaches and staff members.