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Liverpool's Fara Williams bagged the decisive goal last night as England Ladies edged out Colombia 2-1 to progress to the knock-out stage of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The Reds' midfielder scored a crucial 38th minute penalty to put England 2-0 up at the time and ensure that they finished second in their group, ahead of yesterday's opponents but just behind table-toppers France on goal difference.

The Lionesses will now go on to face 1995 champions Norway in the next stage of the competition in Canada on Monday.

After last night's game, Williams said that England had been rewarded for their strong first half display against Colombia, and also looked forward to their upcoming knock-out stage match against Norway.

She told the FA website: "We had a very exciting first half. We showed some really positive play. The goals we scored came after some clever build up.

"Once we got the first goal we felt really in control of the game. I think we managed the game well in the second half and saw it out.

"They (Norway) are a strong team. They can play very direct, they can play a compact game and they have got good individual players. But we are confident, we are building momentum throughout the tournament and we are looking forward to Norway."

Fara Williams has been a Liverpool player since 2012, when she made the controversial move across the Mersey divide from rivals Everton after eight years with the Blues.

During the early stages of her football career, the Reds' player of the year faced struggles with homelessness for almost six years, a story which she kept secret from her team mates until speaking about her background in a BBC interview several months ago.

Williams is England's most capped player with 143 caps and she has scored 38 goals since bursting on to the international scene as an exciting 17-year-old in 2001, leading Rachel Brown-Finnis to label the Reds' star as an invaluable asset for England's World Cup hopes.

She said: "I don’t know anybody who has a better knowledge of the game while it’s happening, you can always listen to how she interprets it and how she reads it during the game – her reading of it all is fantastic.

"Younger players can learn so much from Farah because she has so much knowledge of the game."