Poland will take on Colombia at the Kazan Arena on Sunday, and a defeat for either of these sides could shatter their hopes of qualifying into the Round of 16 in what would be one of the most important fixtures in this year’s FIFA World Cup, Poland lock horns with Colombia in a crucial Group H tie which will see two of the biggest teams in the group fight for their survival in the competition. Both of these sides have tasted surprising defeat in the opening fixtures and will be looking to reignite their World Cup hopes with a win at the Kazan Arena on Sunday.
Poland, who were initially deemed as one the dark horses going into this tournament suffered a defeat against Senegal, leaving their World Cup hopes hanging in the balance. Thiago Cionek’s own goal and M’Baye Niang’s second-half strike made sure Grzegorz Krychowiak’s 86th-minute goal was only as a consolation for a Polish side who lacked intent and ideas going forward throughout the course of the match.
Colombia, on the other hand, were also stuck at the gates during their opener against Japan. Los Cafeteros suffered a shocking 2:1 defeat thanks to goals from Shinji Kagawa and Yuya Osako, both of whom were instrumental as the Blue Samurais outclassed a helpless Colombia. However, Jose Pekerman’s side will look to bounce back to form, knowing a defeat could diminish their hopes of doing well in this World Cup. Defeat for either team would mathematically send them home as Senegal and Japan play earlier in the day,
Overview
Poland had huge support inside the Spartak Stadium and are the seeded team in Group H but they were disappointing in all areas during their opening defeat by Senegal. Leading striker Robert Lewandowski struggled to make his mark during his World Cup debut, and his side must now produce the goods on Sunday. Their 2-1 defeat came hours after Japan had beaten 10-man Colombia 2-1.
Poland have never qualified for the second phase after losing their opening game, and they could face an even bigger challenge should Rodriguez return to Colombia’s starting XI. Colombia, for their part, played 87 minutes of their opening match with 10 men after Carlos Sanchez was shown the second-fastest World Cup red card in history.
Historical Match Record
The game will mark the first competitive contest between the two countries, the only other meeting was a friendly back in 2006 where Colombia won 2-1.
Head-to-head
This will be the first competitive meeting between Poland and Colombia – the South Americans won the most recent friendly 2-1 in Chorzow in 2006.
Colombia have won only two of their nine previous World Cup games against European opponents (D2 L5), though these victories have come in their past four such meetings against Switzerland in 1994 and Greece in 2014.
None of Poland’s nine World Cup games against South American opponents has finished as a draw, with the Eagles winning four and losing five.
About Poland:
Poland have lost seven of their past nine World Cup matches, failing to score in six of those losses.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in their past nine World Cup matches, since beating Portugal 1-0 in 1986.
Despite failing to score against Senegal in Poland’s opening match, Lewandowski has netted 21 goals in his last 16 appearances for his national team.
About Colombia:
Only once before have Colombia lost both of their opening two games in a World Cup tournament, doing so against Romania and the USA back in 1994.
None of Colombia’s 19 games at the World Cup have ended goalless.
Juan Quintero became the first Colombian player to score in two different World Cup tournaments in their opening defeat against Japan (2014 and 2018).
Sanchez’s red card in their opening match against Japan was the first dismissal at the 2018 World Cup and was also Colombia’s first ever sending off in the competition.
Prediction
Despite losing their first match against Japan, Colombia looked quite decent throughout the game following an early red card. And if they can further solidify their wobbly defence and let James Rodriguez play to his full potential, Los Cafeteros are huge favourites against Poland, who lack identity and were all over the place in their opening fixture against Senegal.
Probable lineups Poland
Poland: Wojciech Szczesny; Kamil Glik; Michal Pazdan, Lukasz Piszczek; Maciej Rybus, Jacek Goralski, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Bartosz Bereszyniski; Kamil Grosicki, Piotr Zielinski, Robert Lewandowski
Colombia: David Ospina; Santiago Arias, Cristian Zapata, Oscar Murillo, Johan Mojica; Abel Aguilar, Wilmar Barrios; Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Luis Muriel; Radamel Falcao