Thursday afternoon’s match between Senegal and Colombia was a clash between two of the most vibrant sides in this World Cup, both sets of supporters bouncing up and down in their distinctive yellow and green colours inside the Samara Arena. For all the joy on show in the stands, the teams had a job to do with neither certain to qualify for the knockout stages.
Colombia had endured a disaster in their opening match with Japan as Carlos Sanchez conceded a penalty and was sent off early in that match as they went down 2-1. They would bounce back in style during a 3-0 win over Poland, but knew they needed to win versus their Senegalese opponents in order to be sure of making it through.
Meanwhile Senegal needed just a draw to become the only African side to reach the last 16, with a defeat to Colombia enough should Japan be beaten by Poland. Yet it was the latter that had the better of the attacking play in the opening minutes, VAR correctly ruling out a penalty on Sadio Mane when Davinson Sanchez made an expertly timed tackle inside the box.
The Liverpool forward was extremely lively from the outset, making the most of his team-mates behind him in midfield winning every 50/50 ball, successfully stifling the high-tempo football that opponents Colombia like to play. 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez was frustrated when a return of his injury meant that he was replaced by Luis Muriel on 30 minutes, as Los Cafeteros struggled to even get a foothold in the match.
Condensing the spaces in the midfield, Jose Pekerman’s men were unable to get the ball to striker Falcao, the AS Monaco man receiving just 16 passes in the first half and he would make no passes or shots from inside the penalty area. Indeed, no Colombian player touched the ball in the Senegalese box in the first half, and they would need to improve significantly in order to take the vital three points.
The South Americans did indeed turn up the tempo in the second half as Senegal struggled to keep up the intensity of their first half performance. As Poland scored versus Japan in the other Group H match, both sides were going through with a 0-0 draw. But there was more to come in this story as the injured Youssouf Sabaly was replaced by Moussa Wague, and Colombia found the back of the net with Yerry Mina rising up unmarked to head home from a corner.
With Japan back in a qualification spot on fair play alone, Senegal were forced to come out with only 15 minutes remaining to salvage their World Cup campaign. David Ospina made a good save on a high and powerful Mbaye Niang shot and Sane smashed a shot over the bar when he really should have hit the target.
For Senegal to exit the competition due to disciplinary record was a real shame for this well-coached, well-drilled and hard-working side, but in the end they lacked just a little bit of quality in the final third of the pitch. The result just shows how tight the competition has been in this riveting World Cup, and Colombia showed that their decisiveness made the ultimate difference. It will certainly be a shame not to have an African side in the knockout stages, but this tournament continues to keep fans entertained with thrilling twists and turns.
