New tiebreaker good for Japan, bad for Senegal
SAMARA, Russia — The “fair play” tiebreaker probably doesn’t seem all that fair to Senegal.
The last African team standing at the World Cup lost 1-0 to Colombia on Thursday, leaving it even with Japan on record, goal differential, total goals and head-to-head result. The next tiebreaker to determine which nation would move on as the second-place team in Group H — Colombia was first — was new to the tournament: the team that had accumulated fewer yellow cards during group play (Japan had four, Senegal had six).
Japan lost 1-0 to Poland in the other group finale, which was played at the same time. When the Japanese realized second place would come down to the yellow-card tiebreaker, they started stalling.
“I don’t know if the regulation is cruel or not, but I can’t ask my players to go on the pitch in order to avoid yellow cards,” Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said. “You have to be in contact with other players when you play football. This is how you play football. It worked against us.”
Yerry Mina scored the goal in the 74th minute. The 6-foot-5 defender leapt above two opposing players to head the ball hard off the ground, off Senegal goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye’s hand and into the net, sending the enthusiastic Colombian fans — who knew their team had to win to advance — into a frenzy.
Colombia, which reached the quarterfinals four years ago in Brazil, was the fourth South American team to advance in Russia, with only Peru eliminated. All five African teams
failed to move on, the first time since 1982 no team from the continent has advanced.
Colombia will face England on Tuesday in Moscow, and Japan will face Belgium on Monday in Rostov-on-Don.
Japan and Senegal drew 2-2 in a back-and-forth match last Sunday, after Japan beat Colombia 2-1 to begin the tournament and Senegal beat Poland by the same score. If FIFA had not added the fair-play tiebreaker for this World Cup, the two teams would have had to draw lots to determine which would advance.
“We would have preferred to be eliminated in another way,” Cisse said. “But as I say, it’s a pity for us, it’s a pity for our team. But we knew the regulations.”
Colombia is the only team in Russia to lose its opener and reach the round of 16, bouncing back to beat Poland 3-0 before winning a group finale that wasn’t without bad news. Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez was replaced because of an apparent injury in the 31st minute and didn’t return to the bench until the second half.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said afterward he did not know Rodriguez’s status going forward.
“I am very concerned,” Pekerman said. “It is a situation for us.” › Poland 1, Japan 0 VOLGOGRAD, Russia — Poland, which had already been eliminated from contention for the knockout stage, got its goal from defender Jan Bednarek in the 59th minute. He beat his marker at the far post and volleyed in a swerving free kick from teammate Rafal Kurzawa.
When Bednarek scored, Japan was facing elimination. Once Colombia had scored in
Samara, Japan knew it had done enough to advance even though it was losing late in its match. The Japanese slowed play down to almost nothing, softly passing the ball back and forth in little triangles in their own end to waste time.
“My decision was to rely on the other match,” Japan coach Akira Nishino said. “I’m not too happy about this but … I forced my players to do what I said. And we went through. It was an ultimate decision for me to make. We did not go through with victory, but we just relied on the other match, and I feel that it was slightly regrettable, but I suppose at that point I didn’t have any other plans.”
Spectators showed their displeasure by booing and whistling loudly over the final minutes. Poland, happy to win after two losses, did little to pressure the Japanese, who reached the World Cup’s knockout stage for the third time in five tournaments.
In addition to having two fewer yellow cards than Senegal, Japan committed only 28 fouls in three group matches, among the fewest in the tournament. Senegal committed 44.
› Belgium 1, England 0 KALININGRAD, Russia — In a match neither team had to win, Belgium came out on top to finish first in Group G.
Adnan Januzaj scored the only goal with a curling shot in the 51st minute on a night of little tension or attacking intent.
Both teams had advanced to the round of 16 before the match, and they made a combined 17 changes to their starting lineups to rest players.
Although Belgium won the group, it might have the tougher road to the final with Brazil, Portugal, France and Argentina among possible future opponents. If England gets past Colombia, it could face Spain, Russia, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden or Switzerland on its way to a possible final.
Belgium is one of only three teams to advance to the knockout round with 3-0 records from the group stage. Croatia and Uruguay are the others.
› Tunisia 2, Panama 1 SARANSK, Russia — Tunisia captain Wahbi Khazri and Fakhreddine Ben Youssef ensured their nation’s World Cup slump wouldn’t enter a fifth decade.
Khazri’s hard, rising shot in the 66th minute lifted Tunisia to victory over Panama, with his goal coming about 15 minutes after the striker’s pinpoint pass produced Ben Youssef’s equalizer on a redirection off his right instep.
Panama is still looking for a maiden World Cup victory — or draw, for that matter. But it led a World Cup match for the first time in the 33rd minute, due to an own-goal that happened when Jose Luis Rodriguez’s hard, left-footed shot deflected off Tunisia’s Yassine Meriah.
Both Group G teams were already eliminated from contention for the knockout stage going into the match. Tunisia hadn’t won at the World Cup since a 3-1 victory over Mexico in 1978. Their winless slump lasted 13 matches.