Falcao joins Colombia’s party late
Four years after Radamel Falcao was supposed to lead Colombia at the World Cup, he’s doing just that.
Falcao missed the tournament in Brazil with a knee injury and had to wait until arriving in Russia to score his first World Cup goal. It came in Colombia’s 3-0 victory over Poland on Sunday in Kazan.
“It’s a dream goal,” Falcao said. “I’m happy for the victory, for the team’s performance and the goal that I scored, which I’ve been waiting for for many years.”
The victory kept Colombia in the running for a spot in the round of 16 and knocked Poland out of contention, the first European country to be eliminated.
Falcao, Colombia’s all-time leading scorer with 30 goals, made sure he would stay healthy for this year’s World Cup by sitting out several matches with his Monaco club this season. So far, so good.
“We always hope that he can score and hope that he can be fit as he was today, and we want to help him,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “I think the fact that he scored was very important, not just for today but for the matches to come.
“He is a symbol of the national team. He is a symbol of Colombian football.”
Falcao scored with the outside of his foot in the 70th minute after a superb pass from Juan Quintero in the back of the defense.
Yerry Mina scored the first goal in the 40th and Juan Cuadrado completed the win in the 75th.
Both teams lost their Group H openers and knew another loss would end their hopes of advancing. Colombia will next face Senegal on Thursday in Samara with a chance to win the group, while Poland will play Japan in Volgograd. ⏩ Pekerman dedicated the win to Carlos Sanchez, who was the target of a death threat after receiving a red card in an earlier match at the World Cup. The suspended midfielder was sent off in the team’s 2-1 loss to Japan in its opening game and could not play Sunday.
Colombian authorities are investigating the death threat, which was made on social media. The message appeared with an image of Sanchez and Colombia defender Andres Escobar, who was shot dead on the outskirts of Medellin on July 2, 1994, days after returning from the United States after competing at the World Cup. Escobar scored an own-goal that led to a victory for the U.S.
“This victory is dedicated to Carlos Sanchez, because he has had a very hard time these last few days,” Pekerman said.
Japan 2, Senegal 2: Keisuke Honda sat on the bench for 72 minutes, knowing a goal would make him the first Japanese player to score at three World Cups. Six minutes later, it was a done deal.
The former AC Milan forward scored in the 78th minute, knocking the ball past two defenders standing on the goal line, to give Japan a draw with Senegal at Yekaterinburg.
Honda, 32, also scored at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He has 37 international goals in his career.
“I believe I used substitutions very well in looking back,” said Japan coach Akira Nishino, who took over shortly before the tournament started. “Honda was moved from center to the wide side and he was very versatile at adapting to that position.
“We really wanted to win, we wanted to equalize and also take the lead even though there was only a short period of time left.”
The draw keeps both teams at the top of Group H ahead of their final matches. Japan will next face Poland in Volgograd on Thursday while Senegal faces Colombia in Samara.
Sadio Mane gave Senegal the lead in the 11th minute with his first World Cup goal. The Liverpool forward tapped the ball into the net after goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was unable to control a shot from Youssouf Sabaly. “The ball touched my foot and went into the net,” Mane said. “It was really just the foot on the ball.”
Japan struck back in the 34th minute when Takashi Inui scored with Japan’s first shot on goal, but Moussa Wague restored the lead with a shot high into the net in the 71st.
A minute later, Nishino sent on Honda and striker Shinji Okazaki.
Senegal outshot Japan 14-7 and had five shots on target. Japan had only two.
“Frankly speaking, I think we are a bit disappointed,” Mane said. And that’s normal because there was a way to win this match.”