The captain of the Colombia side will be known by some of the England players following his unsucessful loan spells at Man Utd and Chelsea between 2014-2016. Cahill, who played with the forward at Chelsea, says that his England side know that he is a different player now to the one who was so ineffectual in the Premier League.
'El Tigre' had an incredibly high reputation before his arrival in the Premier League after having spent goal-filled seasons at Porto and Atletico Madrid. However, when he arrived in the Premier League he looked a shadow of the player who had shone at Atleti.
“It was a bit stop-start for him,” Cahill said,
“Sometimes, you don’t get loads of opportunities, you’re in for one or two games, then you’re out or not even a full 90, that was his frustration for us. He never really got up and running, or got a good spell of games back to back to find any sort of form."
And while he had a tough time of it in England, on his return to Monaco he started his return to form, helping Monaco clinch the French Ligue 1 title, scoring 21 goals in 29 appearances in 2016-17. That performance saw him nominated for the Ballon D'Or that season, marking his return to the status as one of the deadliest strikers in European football.
Cahill and his defensive team-mates will have to face him in their last-16 clash with Colombia, and the Chelsea defender is confident that the Three Lions will be able to combat the threat posed by 'El Tigre'.
“Outside of England he’s a very high-profile player,
“He’s scored many goals. He did have a difficult time in England, showed his character when he went to find his form again. He’s someone we’re all very aware of.”