Last-16 the reward for positive first half, says Fara

Goalscorer Fara Williams says England were rewarded for a positive first half against Colombia with a place in the last-16 of the World Cup.

Mark Sampson’s squad defeated the South Americans 2-1 in Montreal to seal their place in the knockout stage of Canada 2015.

Karen Carney opened the scoring after quarter of an hour and Williams doubled the lead from the penalty spot seven minutes before the break.

And Williams said: "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."

Williams, the most capped Three Lions player of all time, smashed home her spot-kick for a 38th international goal to become the first England Women’s player to score at three World Cups.

She added: "It’s important that I scored the penalty, but we have a number of players that are comfortable taking penalties.

"I felt right to step up and take it and put it away, and thankfully I did."

England will face Norway, runners-up in Group B, in the second round.

Even Pellerud’s side provided the opposition in Sampson’s first game as England head coach, a 1-1 draw in La Manga last January.

The Norwegians picked up a silver medal at Euro 2013 and are ranked 11th in the world.

Williams added: "They 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."