Group H best represents spirit of World Cup
Four teams from four continents are well matched, but Colombia gets the edge because of its success in Brazil in 2014
We get our first look at Group H on Tuesday, starting with Colombia against Japan in the early game, followed by Poland versus Senegal. This group features four fairly wellmatched teams from four different continents. So, of all the groups, I think this one best represents the spirit of the World Cup.
Poland is the group’s top seed, according to the FIFA rankings, but they rely heavily on Robert Lewandowski, who was top scorer overall in European qualifying with 16 goals. He was also top scorer in qualifying for Euro 2016, but then scored only once in the finals.
I give the edge to Colombia, which was one of the top teams of the Cup four years ago and still has the same coach in Jose Pekerman. Colombia plays an entertaining style, but has had mixed results recently and barely limped across the line to qualify for Russia.
The star player is midfield maestro James Rodriguez, who burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion at Brazil 2014. He was quickly signed by Real Madrid, but that’s a tough place to play for a budding young superstar because even some of the best players in the world have no guarantee of starting.
Rodriguez has been much happier since his move to Bayern Munich last summer, and is happier still playing for Columbia, where he really gets to shine.
Alongside Rodriguez, Colombia has Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado and Fiorentina midfielder Carlos Sanchez, while up front is veteran Monaco scoring machine Radamel Falcao. Four years ago, Falcao missed the Cup due to injury, and Colombia hadn’t qualified before that since 1998. Now 32, Colombia’s all-time scoring leader finally has a chance to show what he can do on the world stage.
Unfortunately, his teammate Frank Fabra isn’t as fortunate. The starting left-back tore his knee ligaments in training last week and is out of the tournament. That’s the one position where Colombia lacks depth, so 34-year-old Farid Diaz has been brought in as a last-minute replacement. The South Americans could be vulnerable on that flank.
Japan, meanwhile, has had its problems, and fired coach Vahid Halilhodzic in March after a string of bad results and deteriorating relationships with players. Technical director Akira Nishino was promoted to take his place.
Nishino has a lot of experienced players to work with in Russia, including seven with 80 or more caps, a statistic that only Panama can top. Japan is hoping that veteran attackers like Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa can still produce the goods.
These two teams also met in the group stage at Brazil 2014. Colombia won easily 4-1, finishing atop of the group while eliminating Japan. We’ll see if things have changed.