Colombia vs. Senegal 2018 World Cup: Can both teams squeeze through?

Colombia’s James Rodriguez vies for the ball with Senegal’s Lamine Gassama (Manan Vatsyayana/Getty Images)

Colombia (1-0-1, 3 points) vs. Senegal (1-1-0, 4 points)

Group H, Samara Arena, Samara

[Follow Japan vs. Poland, Group H’s other finale]

Senegal applying pressure

The pace has picked up midway through the first half. Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina made saves on shots by Keita and Ismaila Sarr to keep the game scoreless in the the 28th minute.

Another chance for Colombia

Colombia’s Radamel Falcao headed the ball over the crossbar on a perfect free kick from Juan Quintero in the 25th minute. Colombia may have been ruled offside had Falcao’s attempt found the net.

Penalty call overturned

In the 17th minute, the referee awarded Senegal a penalty kick after Sadio Mané was taken down by Davinson Sánchez in the box. The referee then reviewed the play and determined that Sánchez got a piece of the ball with the heel of his foot. The initial call was overturned and the match remained scoreless.

Save for Senegal

Colombia’s Radamel Falcao was sandwiched by a couple of Senegal defenders in the 11th minute, resulting in a free kick from just outside the box. Juan Quintero put a tricky, one-bounce shot on net, but Senegal’s Khadim N’Diaye dove to make the save.

A cautious start

There have been few chances for either side in the first 10 minutes. Possession has been fairly even and Senegal has the only shot.

Starting lineups announced

Pregame thoughts

Colombia and Senegal both have a chance to qualify for the round of 16 in their group-play finale Thursday, although so too does Japan, which plays Poland in the other, simultaneous Group H match. Senegal would clinch advancement with a win or a draw, while Colombia needs to win to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage.

Colombia is coming off a 3-0 victory over Poland, which was the highest-ranked team in the group entering the World Cup. Meanwhile, Senegal enters its final game of the group stage following a 2-2 draw against Japan. Senegal led twice in that game but each time allowed Japan to notch an equalizer.

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When: Thursday, 10 a.m. Eastern.

How to watch on TV: Fox.

How to stream online: Fox Sports and the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.

How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.

How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.

[Here’s the World Cup knockout round bracket and schedule]

Team profiles

Colombia

Previous results: Lost to Japan, 2-1; defeated Poland, 3-0.
What’s at stake: Colombia will advance to the round of 16 if it defeats Senegal. If Colombia loses to Senegal, it will not move on. If Colombia and Senegal draw, Colombia could still advance if Japan loses. In that case, Senegal would finish atop the standings while Colombia would move on thanks to goal differential.
Notable: In its five appearances at the World Cup, Colombia has only advanced to the round of 16 twice. In 2014, Colombia made it to the quarterfinals.
FIFA world ranking: 16. ELO world ranking: 11.

Senegal

Previous results: Defeated Poland, 2-1; drew, 2-2, vs. Japan.
What’s at stake: Senegal will advance to the round of 16 as long as it wins or draws against Colombia. If Senegal loses to Colombia, it will have to count on Japan losing to Poland. That would leave Senegal tied with Japan for the second spot in Group H, putting goal differential and goals scored in play.
Notable: This is just Senegal’s second World Cup appearance. In 2002, Senegal advanced to the quarterfinals.
FIFA world ranking: 27. ELO world ranking: 22.

Players to watch

Colombia’s James Rodriguez finished the 2014 World Cup on top of the Golden Boot standings, scoring six times in Brazil. No other Colombian player has ever scored more than two World Cup goals. Rodriguez has not scored yet for Colombia in Russia, but he delivered two assists in Colombia’s victory over Poland. Sadio Mane is one of Senegal’s three different goal scorers so far in this World Cup; since Mane started playing for Liverpool in 2016, he has scored 23 times for the Premier League club.

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