Colombia advance to knockouts as Senegal go out on yellow cards Col 1 Sen 0

Colombia vs Senegal: Mane led Senegal have dominated the possession in first quarter of the first half

A header from Yerry Mina put Colombia through to the knockout stages of Fifa World Cup 2018 and booked a return ticket for Senegal on account of having received more yellow cards than Japan.
Every reason for Colombia to be ecstatic. Colombia have won the night through Mina's header. Japan progress on fair points ahead of Senegal.  Japan had (-4) and Senegal had (-6).  This was the first time a time has qualified on the basis of fair play. 

Yerry Mina is the man of the moment. Colombia were reluctant for Mina at the start of the touranment because of reasons like not being regular at Barcelona and match practice but Mina has negated every negative talk about him. VAR played a crucial role in the game and denied denied a penalty in the first half to Senegal.

Colombia were beaten by Senegal throughout the first half as they struggled to keep the possesion and match the opposition's energy. Colombia improved in the second half and got the much needed breakthrough when Mina met a corner from the right with a thumping header at the near post.

Colombia have become the only side to reach the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup despite losing their opening match of the tournament

There will be no African teams in the round of 16. This is first time an African team haven't progressed the first group stage in a World Cup for the first time since 1982.

- - - - - - - -  - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - -  - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - 

Live Commentary:

Min 90+4: And Senegal are out. The final score: Colombia 1 Senegal 0. Senegal are going out because of the two yellow card.

Min 90: 4 minutes of added time. Senegal have 240 seconds to save their place in World Cup 2018. Looks tough.

Min 88: As it stands, Senegal are going out because of two bookings earned in stoppage time of one match. Mina is Colombia's hero today. Senegal is fighting hard but it is not reflecting on the scoreboard. 

Min 86: Niang has been replaced by Sakho.

Min 80.  Quintero's cross from the corner was outstanding, and Mina had the desire and strength to attack it and net the ball home. 
Min 74: Yerry MIna heads the ball into the net to give Colombia the much needed break. He should be striker. This is his second goal in his second match. What a player.

Min 67: Jame is out of the dressing room and is instructing players from the bench. Colombia is now back into the game. They are getting the passes and are sending crosses across. The Senegal wall has finally fallen.

Min 62: Sadio Mane goes down after a tackle by Sanchez. Mane takes the freekick anddd he slips only and shoots ball to the moon.

Min 55: Mojica gives superb cross towards Falcao at the back post, but's headed away! Fantastic clearance from Senegal!

Min 51: Niang picks up the first yellow card for Senegal after a poor challenge. 

Min  49: Senegal is not giving an inch to Colombia and Colombia are forced to play in their own backyard.

Min 47: A good-looking ball over the top for Cuadrado who could only chase it out of play. 

#Trivia: Yuan Cuadrado has created more goalscoring chances (4) than any other Colombian player in the 2018 World Cup
And here we go again. Colombia gets the game underway.
- - - - - - - - -  - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - -  

Half time analysis:

As it stands, Japan and Senegal are going to the knockouts. And what a play by Senegal. They did what they were doing in the first two games. They looked postive, they were attacking and their pressing was outstanding. Overall, they were brilliant.

Apart from the Senegal fans, the major highlight of the game was James being called and a penalty denied to Senegal. 

You can understand Colombia failed game plan by the fact that except for one offside header, Colombia have not touched the ball inside Senegal’s penalty area.

Understandbly, It looks like Senegal will be first to score. Colombia have hugely underperformed in the first half. 

 
- - - - - -  - - - -  - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - -  - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -  - -

Min 45: Mojica has been booked for cynically challenging and bringing Sarr down. The first yellow card of the game.
Min 38: Mojica went down in his own box while trying to challenge Mane. He gets back to game after some treatment

Min 36: Senegal has been quite impressive. They have dominated the first half. And Colombia have been quite ineffective. They had only 1 touch in the Senegal box as of yet. 

Min 32: James had attempted only 10 passes, eight of them successful. Looks like he was injured and his contribution to the game was negligible.  

Min 30: James Rodriguez has been called off. Now that's huge. He has been replaced by Muriel. James was looking out of touch from the start. A sad moment for a the Golden Boot boy of 2014.

Min 28: Sanchez excellently tackles Mane again, and when the ball goes to Keita, who is not at all intersted in passing ball to his unmarked teammate and shoots directly into hands of Ospina.

Min 20: Yerry Mina gives a free-kick for a challenge on Keita, No booking there. The ball into the box is comfortably handled.

Min 18: No, it's not a penalty. Refree checks with the VAR and the tackle looks clean on screen. It was a beautiful tackle by Sanchez.

Min 17: Penalty... Davinson Sanchez tackles Sadio Mane and Refree calls for a penalty..
Min 12: Quintero chips a free-kick from 20 yards to the goalkeeper's side. N'Diaye gets down well to make the save

Min 9: Senegal gets a free kick on the left. Keita Balde scoops it straight into the arms of Ospina.

Min 7: Sanchez tries to switch the ball to the right-back, but it's overhit and behind its target goes out for a throw-in.

Min 5: Both teams are struggling to maintain the rythmn. Both are getting the chances and both have failed to assert themselves as of yet.

Min 3: We have everything to be call it perfect match, 1) It's a crunch game and 2) You will have to love Senegal fans.  

Min 1: Senegal gets the ball rolling and there is not threat to their possesion in the starting few seconds. Senegal hit the first shot of the game, Niang scooping the ball over the bar from 20 yards.

And here we goooooooo

Players are out of the tunnel. Anthems are being played.

Confirmed line-ups

Senegal: Khadim N’Diaye, Gassama, Sane, Koulibaly, Sabaly, Sarr, Kouyate, Gueye, Mane, Balde, Niang. Subs: Diallo, Mbengue, Mbodji, Sow, Diouf, N’Doye, Alfred N’Diaye, Konate, Sakho, Ndiaye, Wague, Gomis

. 

Colombia: Ospina, Arias, Davinson Sanchez, Mina, Mojica, Uribe, Carlos Sanchez, Cuadrado, Quintero, Rodriguez, Falcao. Subs: Vargas, Zapata, Murillo, Barrios, Bacca, Muriel, Lerma, Diaz, Borja, Izquierdo, Cuadrado. 

Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia).

Match Preview: Colombia vs Senegal

The west Africans could have ensured their passage to the round of 16 in Sunday's second group match against Japan but after playing out a 2-2 draw, they need now a draw to advance but if Colombia win, they will advance at Senegal's expense if Japan avoid defeat against Poland in Volgograd at the same time.

Line-ups:

What it takes to qualify

Senegal: Win/Draw against Colombia
Can Qualify even if they lose vs Colombia, if Japan lose by a heavier margin to Poland

Colombia: Win vs Senegal
Colombia can still qualify with a draw if Japan lose, provided they can have a better GD than them

A draw would also do for Colombia but only if Japan lose.

Japan and Senegal lead the group on four points while Colombia are one behind after their resounding 3-0 win over Poland in Kazan on Sunday.

Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez sounded confident on Wednesday.

"Starting with a loss (to Japan 2-1) in a tournament as short as the World Cup could have been difficult to reverse, but we did well, we won (against Poland 3-0) and we took that victory with great enthusiasm, but also with a head full of knowledge that we're still processing," Sanchez was quoted as saying by Efe news agency.

"At the World Cup level, nobody is going to give you anything, especially at a time when football has evolved so much," the Tottenham defender added.

"However, we think of ourselves," he stressed. "Colombia will always be more important than the opponent in front of us."

The defender, who was one of the outstanding players in Sunday's win against Poland, warned of the danger posed by the Senegalese squad, particularly Liverpool star Sadio Mane.

Sanchez asserted that his side will focus on their rival's entire team, not just one player, although he said Mane "is a great player, (who) has had a good season in the Premier League."

Senegal Predicted Lineup

Ndiaye; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Sane, Wague; Kouyate, Ndiaye, Gueye; Mane, Niang, Sarr

Colombia Predicted Lineup

Ospina; Arias, Sanchez, Mina, Mojica; Uribe, Sanchez, Cuadrado, Quintero, Rodriguez; Falcao

Watch out for: 

Defender Moussa Wague scored in his last match to become the first ever African teenager to score at a World Cup. The right back has shown plenty of energy so far in the tournament. He has both pace and composure and can prove to be key asset for the Senegal side.

Juan Quintero was one of the key men in the Colombia side last time out. His through balls could be a valuable asset for Colombia.

When and Where to watch: Senegal vs Colombia and Japan vs Poland

Time: 7:30 PM (IST)

In today's Group H match, Senegal vs Colombia will take place in Samara Arena. Meanwhile, the second match of Group H, Japan vs Poland, will be played in Volgograd Arena on Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 7:30 PM (IST).

Senegal vs Colombia and Japan vs Poland matches will be broadcast on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Six and Sony Six HD in English Commentary and Sony Ten 3 and Sony 3 HD in Hindi Commentary.

Free streaming details: Senegal vs Colombia and Japan vs Poland

Senegal vs Colombia and Japan vs Poland matches will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv also. And Both Airtel and Jio would broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2018 matches for free to their respective subscribers.