Day 6
Group H is blown wide open after the pre-tournament favorites lost their opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Group H – Colombia vs Japan
Date – June 19, 2018
Venue – Saransk
Goal scorers – (Colombia) Juan Quintero 39’
Goal scorers – (Japan) Shinji Kagawa 6’pen, Yuya Osako 73’
Colombia became the first team from Asia to beat a South American team at the World Cup.
Carlos Sanchez became the first player to be sent off on a red card in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Sanchez’s goal-saving handball gave Japan an early penalty to take the lead in the 6th-minute and reduced Colombia to a 10-man team for the remainder of the match.
Colombia got back on level terms when Juan Quintero smartly converted a free kick into a goal with a low shot that went under the Japanese defensive wall.
Japan’s numerical advantage became evident in the second half. Yuya Osako’s headed in a corner kick to give Japan the winning goal and an unexpected 3 points.
Group H – Poland vs Senegal
Date – June 19, 2018
Venue – Spartak Stadium
Goal Scorers – (Poland) Thiago Cionek 37’(o.g) Grzegorz Krychowiak 86’
Goal scorers – (Senegal) Mbaye Niang 60’
Senegal became the first African side to win a match in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Poland became the 2nd European side to suffer defeat in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The athleticism of the Senegalese players made it virtually impossible to see Poland get full points from the match after Thiago Cionek redirected a shot into his own net to give Senegal the lead in the first half.
Poland got a late goal to cut the lead in half, but it was going to take more time than what was available for the Polish team to secure an equalizer.
Group A – Russia vs Egypt
Date – June 19, 2018
Venue – Zenit St. Petersburg
Goal scorers – (Russia) Denis Cheryshev 59, Artem Dzyuba 62
Goal scorers – (Egypt) Ahmed Fathi 47’(o.g), Mohamed Salah 73’(pen)
Mohamed Salah scored in his first World Cup match but suffer a ‘3-1’ defeat to Russia.
Egypt remains winless at the FIFA World Cup, and their return to the tournament after a 28-year absence hasn’t helped change that record.
Russia has virtually secured a place in the Round of 16 after two wins and eight goals.
Denis Cheryshev scored his 3rd goal of the tournament to offer Russia an insurance goal after Ahmed Fathi’s poor attempt to clear the ball from the penalty box ended up as an own goal to give Russia an early lead at the restart.
