Knockout blow

Colombia thrashes Poland 3-0, making them the first European team out of the competition

KAZAN, Russia — 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.

“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 out Poland, 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.”

Playing some scintillating soccer in Kazan, Falcao scored with the outside of his foot in the 70th minute after a superb pass from playmaker 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.

Senegal and Japan drew 2-2 earlier Sunday and lead the group with four points each.

Mina out-jumped the Poland

defense to head in the opening goal from James Rodriguez’s cross, rewarding a spell of domination by the Colombians.

Rodriguez’s through ball after Poland lost possession in midfield led to the final goal. Cuadrado collected the pass and rushed toward the box, timing his shot perfectly to beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Poland got off to an aggressive start in the hot and humid Tatarstan capital, pressing high and winning most of the duels in the opening minutes.

Colombia gradually settled in, though, with Quintero providing attacking width and Cuadrado proving dangerous with his subtle moves on the edge of the box.

Colombia slowed the pace in the second half, showing good counterattacking qualities. Quintero came close in the 56th minute on the break, but his goal-bound shot took a deflection.

Cut off from the rest of his teammates, Robert Lewandowski had a few attempts but could not convert his rare chances.

JAPAN 2, SENEGAL 2: Senegal twice took the lead. Japan tied it up both times. Keisuke Honda came off the bench in the second half and scored in the 78th minute, giving the Japanese a 2-2 draw with Senegal on Sunday at the World Cup. The 32-year-old Honda, a former

AC Milan forward, became the first Japanese player to score at three World Cups. The draw keeps the two teams at the top of Group H ahead of their final matches. Sadio Mane gave Senegal the lead in the 11th minute with his first World Cup goal. Japan struck back in the 34th minute when Takashi Inui scored with a low shot from inside the area after receiving a pass from Yuto Nagamoto on a quick counterattack. It was Japan’s first shot on goal in the match, and it changed the run of play.

ENGLAND 6, PANAMA 1: Harry Kane scored a hat trick to help England to its most one-sided World Cup victory, a 6-1 rout of Panama on Sunday that secured a place in the last 16 with a game to spare. John Stones headed in two goals and Jesse Lingard curled in another. England’s previous high for goals in a World Cup match was set in its 4-2 victory over Germany in 1966 final. Two of Kane’s goals came from the penalty spot and the third via his heel. He leads the tournament with five goals, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku. England goes into the Group G finale against Belgium level on points and with the same goal difference after conceding a late goal against Panama, which was eliminated after two matches in its World Cup debut

FRANK AUGSTEIN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Colombia’s Radamel Falcao, right, scores the second goal for his side past Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny during the group H match between Poland and Colombia, Sunday at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia.