So much clarity came from England's game against Colombia in the final 16 of the World Cup.

We realised that Gareth Southgate is officially the nicest man in the country, Jordan Pickford is a goal-saving beast and - the one thing that hasn't really been mentioned at all - the fact that it's coming home.

Now let's talk about something that we all thought - 'how dirty are Colombia?' From questionable tackles, that chest-come-chin butt on Jordan Henderson to their overall aggression whenever the referee came to a decision.

Some people might say that 'it's football, that's what happens' or they're there to win and as long as they do that it doesn't matter by what means.

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Well, England defender, John Stones, definitely wouldn't agree as he described Colombia as the 'the dirtiest team I've ever played'.

The 24-year-old didn't hold back in his assessment of the South American side, who adopted spoiling tactics throughout the game on Tuesday night, The Sun reported.

We all remember Stones turning to the Colombian players when realisation kicked in that England had won the penalty shootout.

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(L-R) Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose, Harry Maguire and John Stones. Credit: PA

Manchester City player Stones refused a handshake from Carlos Bacca when the striker picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on the defender almost immediately after coming on as a sub.



And let's not forget Colombian midfielder Wilmar Barrios escaped with only a yellow card after headbutting Jordan Henderson, when many would have been screaming 'RED CARD REF'.

Stones also said: "The best thing for us was to beat them at football, that will hurt them most. At the end of the day they're on a plane home and we're still here.

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"The game was so strange. It was the dirtiest team I've ever come up against, in the respect of when we won a penalty, surrounding the referee, pushing the referee, the headbutt you've all seen, scuffing the penalty spot and a lot of off the ball stuff I'm sure you've not heard about.



John Stones. Credit: PA

He continued: "All the sort of things you don't really hear in a football match. On our behalf it showed massive character to keep a cool head and not get dragged into their game.

"We stuck to our plan and kept playing our way of football and that's a great quality to have. It was a difficult situation but one we've overcome and can be proud of."

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At half-time, a member of Jose Pekerman's coaching staff, Eduardo Urtasun, was seen barging into Raheem Sterling, while he was on the receiving end of verbal abuse every time he went for a drink.

Credit: PA

Sterling also said that one of the players even grabbed a rib.

The winger said: "There was one of their guys who had a hold of my ribs. I don't know how that was even possible but he had hold of my ribs."

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