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Supp. Seven 'First Round Conclusions'

  • Jun 20, 2018
  • 2 min read

The final game in Group H brought a conclusion to the first full round of fixtures at the tournament and saw Eighth highest ranked side in the World take on FIFA’s 27th highest ranked Senegalese team at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow. Poland would lose defensive stalwart Kamil Glik in the lead up to the match and his absence showed throughout as both the goals Poland had conceded would prove shockingly embarrassing.

Poland started with intent and midfielder Zielinski looked inventive in possession alongside West Brom’s Krychowiak. Defensive mishaps would mar this performance for the Poles and the Senegalese opener was a defenders worst nightmare. Gliks fill-in Thiago Cionek met Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye’s long range effort and turned it into his own net, completing deceiving Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and gifting the Senegalese the lead who, on the balance of play, partially deserved the lead. After 60 minutes a mix up in midfield led to an awful Krychowiak back pass and Senegal forward Niang would capitalise as a second terrible error for the Polish outfit would cost them the match; four minutes from time Krychowiak would go some way to making amends but his header would prove a case of too little too late. Senegal took all three points and perhaps surprisingly could advance from the group.

The other fixture in Group H saw South American favourites Colombia, missing star James Rodriguez take on Japan. In a shock result, Japan stole all three points, taking the lead when Carlos Sanchez deliberating used his hand to stop the ball from going in after a scramble. The midfielder was red carded and the Colombian’s suffered. Former Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa converted a great effort to gift the outfit the lead. Six minutes before half time however, winger Quintero converted from outside of the box at a free kick to make the scores level again courtesy of goal line technology. FC Koln forward Osako would regain the lead for the eventual Asian winners from a corner in the 73’. Japan could be the first Asian side to not finish bottom of their group for two World Cup’s - a big achievement.

Russia took on an Egyptian side including the returning Mo Salah and recorded an impressive victory for the second match in a row. Russia took the lead through an Ahmed Fathy own goal and then cemented the victory through goals from Denis Cheryshev and Dzyuba - the Egyptians could only answer back with a Mohamed Salah penalty but they will leave the World Cup as the Russian’s progress forward, contrary to the predictions made by pundits and fans alike.

 
 
 

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