Football Results

The last match of the second round is duel between two favourites in the Group H. Neither of teams has justified predictions and both lost by 2-1; Poland to Senegal, and Columbia to Japan. It is clear to everyone that new defeat for each team means farewell to the World Cup. The Poles played very weakly which was absolutely not expected after nice job in the qualification and solid results made in the preparation period. On the other hand Columbia played well having in mind they had one player less and had to chase minus of one goal. The two teams met just once in 2006, and Columbia won their friendly 2-1.

Poland

The first round brought a couple of major surprises as several highly regarded national teams have underperformed. The Poles are definitely one of biggest disappointments, not because they were regarded as big favourites but because of very poor performance against Senegal, who waited and used it chances after poor interventions of Polish defence. It can be said that the entire team played well below expectations, including their biggest star Lewandowski, from whom is expected to alone win every match but he simply didn’t have his day.

Statistic says that he had only 14 contacts with ball and it tells us that he was practically totally neutralised. No other player had replaced him and Poland was harmless in attack, while the defence made beginner’s mistakes, which combined with bad lack left them without points. Linetty didn’t play in midfield and instead the Poles tried with two forwards as Milik played instead. Now, they will probably change the tactic and will play with three stoppers, meaning that Bednarek will be starter, while Kownacki could refresh the attack.

Probable lineups Poland: Szcezsny – Pazdan, Bednarek, Cionek – Piszczek, Krychowiak, Zielinski, Rybus, Grosicki – Kownacki, Lewandowski

Columbia

Columbia lost in the first round, which was unexpected since it faced Japan, however, it is hard to make a good judgement since the Columbians were unlucky enough to stay with one player less on the pitch from the third minute of match. Midfielder C. Sanchez wasn’t careful enough and he left his team in the cold. To make matters worse, besides the red card Japan got penalty and it took the lead after it. All in all, the World Cup couldn’t have a worse start for the Columbians, however, they showed character after that when they established control over the midfield despite having 10 players on the pitch. The reward came in form of Quintero’s equaliser from a free kick. Columba showed quality with that but it lost steam in the second half when it had to concede initiative to the opponent.

They hadn’t allow themselves to receive the second goal after a set piece, which was on top of everything a header, as the Japanese are almost harmless in such situations. Regarding the attitude, Columbia’s problems had started before the match as the team’s first star J. Rodrigez couldn’t be a starter due to injury, while manager Pekerman surprised with putting Lerma and Izquired in the starting line-up. He replaced indisposed Ju. Cuadrado with Barriosa, which was a good move and we expect to see this player now from the first minute, especially as C. Sanchez is suspended. J. Rodriguez should be a starter and Columbians rightly expect a better result.

Probable lineups Columbia: Ospina – Arias, D. Sanchez, O. Murillo, Mojica – Lerma, Barrios – Quintero, J. Rodriguez, Ju. Cuadrado – Falcao

Verdict:

Decisive match for both teams, where both need victory but just one team can win. Realistically, Poland made more mistakes in the first round, while Columbia showed more despite having 10 players on the pitch. Now, the Columbians will be complete, including their best player and objectively they have better chance to win the Poles.

Pick: Asian handicap 0 Columbia 1.67 - 67/100 @1XBet