WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: ENGLAND V COLOMBIA

WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: ENGLAND V COLOMBIA, GROUP F

England boss Mark Sampson says Colombia's win over third-best team France showed world rankings mean nothing as his side prepare to face the South Americans on Wednesday.

England are ranked sixth, with Colombia 28th, and need a win to ensure they reach the second round, but they could advance with a point.

Sampson said striker Jodie Taylor and midfielder Jordan Nobbs could feature.

"We've got to put the world rankings to one side," Sampson, 32, said.

"It's a bit unfair in women's football because a lot of the South American and African nations don't have many opportunities to play the top nations.

"I'd prefer to judge Colombia on drawing with Mexico and winning against France."

Colombia sit top of the group on four points after they shocked France with a 2-0 win on Saturday.

England are level on three points with France, but have a better goal difference. The top two teams go through, but in four of the six World Cup groups a third-placed team will also advance to the second round.

The match against Colombia takes place indoors at Montreal's 60,000-capacity Olympic Stadium, built for the 1976 Olympics. And should England finish top of Group F, they will stay in the city.

Second place would mean a trip to Ottawa to face Norway, while finishing third could mean travelling further west to either Edmonton or Vancouver.

Sampson added: "It's not a must-win game. We're in a place where we can afford to drop some points and still go through, but of course we want to win the game."

The Welshman said his team are well prepared to face a defensive formation from Colombia after an analyst gathered footage of the team's pre-tournament performances on a mobile phone.

And he said the team are "ready" for a "physical threat".

"All our homework on Colombia was telling us clear facts about what they were going to do and we've seen nothing different in the tournament," the 32-year-old added.

"If anything their result [against France] will make sure our players are very clear that this is a dangerous Colombia team."

Taylor and Nobbs are yet to feature in England's two opening games after returning from injuries.

Sampson said 29-year-old striker Taylor, who has had knee surgery, was set to play a part against Mexico but was rested as a precaution because of swelling at half-time.

Arsenal midfielder Nobbs, 22, has had recent hamstring problems. However, Sampson said she has been "waiting her turn" after good displays by other midfielders such as Jade Moore.

"Jordan has been match-fit since the start of the tournament so she is in a good place," he added. "We had to look at Jodie after a little setback against Mexico, but she will be available to play if we need her from the bench. She trained yesterday and she looked sharp."

Sampson also said that playing on hard artificial pitches with little recovery time in between games had kept his medical team busy.

But he added: "We knew before the tournament that some of the players would take a little longer to recover and we'd have to manage that process."