Surprise Leaders Meet in Group H
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When the draw was made for the 2018 World Cup, Japan and Senegal were not given much hope when they were placed in Group H alongside Poland and Colombia.
However, as the teams enter the second round of matches on Sunday, it’s the two underdogs who lead the group and one of them could secure a place in the Round of 16 with a win. It would be a remarkable achievement, especially for Japan who entered the tournament with very little hope of doing well.
Japan started the 2018 World Cup with a tough looking fixture against Colombia. The South American team were strongly fancied by many to not only win the match but to go on and top the group.
However, some poor defending led to a handball in the penalty area and Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off for handball. Shinji Kagawa made no mistake from the spot and Japan led 1-0 early in the first half.
Colombia played well to come back into the game and equalised from a clever free-kick before half-time. In the second half, Japan made the extra man tell and they started applying more consistent pressure to the Colombia goal before scoring the winner from a corner.
It was a dream start for Japan and they will come into this match full of confidence having secured 3 points in the group.
Senegal started their World Cup campaign having seen all the other African nations lose their matches. The pressure was on Aliou Cisse’s team but they came up against a Poland team who offered very little in way of an attacking threat.
Despite having European qualifying top scorer Robert Lewandowski in their ranks, Poland did not play with any urgency in attack and Senegal took advantage. The first goal for Senegal came via a deflection and the second was as a result of individual mistakes by Polish players.
Senegal were not great but did not need to be and won the match without playing brilliant football. If they can up their level of performance in this match, Senegal will believe they have the quality to win the match and possibly secure a place in the Round of 16.
Team news and Japan are likely to stick with the team which started against Colombia. That means a place in attack for Yuya Osako, with top scorer Shinji Okazaki being forced to settle for a place on the substitutes bench.
Senegal will also be reluctant to make any changes to their starting XI. Sadio Mane is the main threat in attack but Moussa Sow and Keita Balde will be hoping to feature at some point during the 90 minutes.
This is a tough match to call but Senegal have the better individual talent and that could be what makes the difference in this game. Both teams could find the back of the bet but Senegal have the quality to win the match.
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