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Croatia have kickstarted their World Cup campaign with a gritty 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto. After the stalemate in the England and Ghana clash earlier in the day, Group L is now one to watch closely with the placings still to be decided on the last day of group stage matches.
Here is Leander Schaerlaeckens’ match report from the game at Toronto Stadium (if nothing else, worth a read to also see a celebratory photo of Croatia veteran Luka Modric) …
On the night when a 40-year-old Luka Modric became the fourth member of the sport’s ultra-exclusive 200-cap club on the men’s side for Croatia, Ante Budimir rescued their World Cup campaign with the only goal of a tight match.
It was the solitary goal scored all day in Group L and puts Zlatko Dalic’s side a point behind England and Ghana. Panama, meanwhile, are eliminated and have yet to secure a point in five World Cup matches between the 2018 edition and this one.
DR Congo XI
1 Lionel Mpasi (gk); 2 Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 22 Chancel Mbemba (c), 4 Axel Tuanzebe, 3 Steve Kapuadi, 26 Arthur Masuaku; 8 Samuel Moutoussamy, 6 Ngal’ayel Mukau, 25 Edo Kayembe; 17 Cédric Bakambu, 20 Yoane Wissa.
Coach Sébastien Desabre turns to defence again with the same 5-3-2 formation that caused all sorts of problems for Portugal in DR Congo’s first World Cup game since 1974. While DR Congo were happy for their opponents to have time on the ball in the opener, while they had only 25% possession, the Leopards still had more shots than Portugal with 8-7 attempts in a draw that earned their first World Cup point. Wissa scored the critical goal with a cool finish and will line up alongside Bakambu as DR Congo test the Colombia defensive line with their pace and tireless movement.
Colombia XI
12 Camilo Vargas (gk); 2 Daniel Muñoz, 23 Davinson Sánchez, 3 Jhon Lucumí, 17 Johan Mojica; 14 Gustavo Puerta, 16 Jefferson Lerma; 11 Jhon Arias, 10 James Rodríguez (c), 7 Luis Díaz; 25 Luis Suárez.
Coach Néstor Lorenzo sticks with the starting XI and 4-2-3-1 formation that toiled hard and eventually overcame a spirited Uzbekistan. Los Cafeteros relied on Díaz to create, assist or put away most of the opportunities in their World Cup opener, especially with veteran Rodríguez the only other prolific international goalscorer in the XI, though they will surely need more from striker Suárez against a DR Congo defence that Portugal found hard to break down.
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Jo Khan
I’ll leave you with some final Colombian colour before reluctantly handing back over to Martin Pegan to take things from here.
The Guardian was all over the England game. Here is Jacob Steinberg’s analysis:
Plus Barney Ronay’s take on the draw:
And our player ratings:
Today’s other game was the Group I clash between England and Ghana. Thomas Tuchel’s team got a stern reality check from a dogged Ghanaian side who were happy to sit back and defend.
David Hytner was at Boston Stadium:
England’s idea was to maintain the momentum they had generated in the 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening Group L tie but there was no surge here. Only stodge. England laboured to create against an ultra-defensive Ghana team, their only pulse-quickening moments coming towards the very end.
Croatia look like they are going to hang on against Panama with only two minutes left:
An email has come through from Alejandro Borrero:
We are preparing arepas with hogao with my daughters here in Florida getting ready to see Colombia WIN! Trying to capture that homely feeling from a distance. Vamos!!
Alejandro also sent through some photographic evidence which is a bit too tricky for me to get into the blog, but I can confirm it looks delicious.
Back in Mexico, the teams have arrived at Estadio Guadalajara.
After filing to find the back of the net in Portugal’s opening game, Ronaldo’s relief was palpable in Houston.
There have long been question marks over his continued ability to lead Portugal on this stage, but after the final whistle he shouted into a television camera: “I’m back, I’m back.”
Checking in with Group K now, and the first match today was a cracking one, including one disallowed goal that would have been in contention for best of the tournament so far.
Portugal were clinical in their 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. As Nick Ames writes, the Asian side were “utterly unequipped” to handle the skill of Ronaldo et al.
Golden oldies fighting for the golden boot? Let us not get ahead of ourselves. But it will do Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego no harm that he is off the mark for this summer, particularly given Lionel Messi’s voracious appetite to keep long-burning fires ablaze. Nor will it pass unnoticed that he has broken a record of his own. In breaching Uzbekistan twice during the opening period of what quickly became a leisurely non-contest, Ronaldo became the first player to score in six editions of the World Cup.
It was noted yesterday that Algeria v Jordan had the San Francisco Bay Area stadium awash with red, white and green (sorry Italy). Well, from what I can see so far today, Guadalajara is a haze of a yellow, blue and red. And my goodness are these fans going all out. We love to see it!
I’d love to hear from you, wherever you are. Any Colombia or DR Congo fans out there? Let me know how you’re planning to follow the game today, and any thoughts you have on the teams. I’m at [email protected].
Jo Khan
Thanks Martin. The other Group K match finished a few hours ago, with Ronaldo announcing that he’s back in Portugal’s 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan. I’ll get into that match in a moment. But first, you may want to check in with the live football in Toronto where Panama and Croatia are locked in a close battle. Jeff Reuter has all the action from that one:
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup match between Colombia and DR Congo at Estadio Guadalajara. Kick-off in this Group K game is 8pm local/11pm EDT/3am BST/12pm AEST.
Colombia are out to book their place in the knockouts after opening their World Cup campaign with a victory over Uzbekistan. Daniel Muñoz’s stunning strike sparked Colombia but they needed a moment of brilliance from Luis Díaz to reclaim the lead after Uzbekistan levelled in the second half. Jaminton Campaz nodded home the sealer deep into stoppage time. Another win today in Guadalajara would leave top spot in Group K in Colombia’s own hands before a meeting with Portugal in Miami.
DR Congo also impressed when earning their first-ever World Cup point in their opener against the highly fancied Portugal. A breakthrough win over Colombia would all but ensure their campaign continues into the round of 32, while another point would leave them well-placed ahead of their clash with Uzbekistan. Veteran attacker Cédric Bakambu rose to the occasion with an hearty performance but it was Yoane Wissa who levelled on the cusp of half-time before DR Congo frustrated Portugal with a deep-lying defence.
I’ll be back later with the line-ups then the live action. In the meantime, Jo Khan is here with all the buildup and the latest from the World Cup. Get in touch with any questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot Jo an email. Let’s get into it!
