Japan beats Colombia 2-1 | World Cup 2018

Japan's Yuya Osako scores their second goal against Colombia

Japan have created history after becoming the first Asian side ever to beat a South American team in a World Cup match. They had taken the lead minutes after the kick off on account of a straight red card issued to Carlos Sanchez for a deliberate hand ball. Shinji Kagawa converted the resulting spot-kick to put Japan 1-0 ahead. Then, Quintero equalised with a clever freekick before Osako headed a cross from Honda to seal the deal.

FULL TIME: JAPAN 2-1 COLOMBIA. Japan have beaten Colombia!

• 94': Carlos Bacca sneaks in from the left. He has all the time and space but a poor delivery sees the ball float well over the goal.
• 93': Arias conceded a free kick. Japanese fans are elated.
• 92': No real attempt so far. Japan are running out the clock.
• 90+5': Five minutes of injury time for Colombia to find an equliser and for Japan to hold on to their lead.
• 89': Mojica on his own from the left flank. A timely challenge from Japanese defender as he is dispossessed. He appeals for a freekick but is denied.
• 86': YELLOW CARD TO JAMES RODRIGUEZ for a challenge on Haraguchi.
• 85': Into the final five minutes (plus injury time) of the contest. Do Colombia have anything left in the tank to save this game now?
• 84': SUBSTITUTION no. 3 for Japan. Yuya Osako makes way for Shinji Okazaki
• 83': Osako surges ahead to get hold of a lob but this time Davinson Sanchez is upto the task. Threat averted.
• 80': SUBSTITUTION no. 2 for Japan. Yamaguchi comes in for Shibasaki.
• 79': Corner for Colombia. Defended. Ball lobs back for the Colombians but they fail to make it count.
• 78': CHANCE! A delicious backheel finds James Rodriguez whose powerful left-footed attempt is deflected over the bar. A superb piece of defending from, well, Osako!
• 77': Corner for Colombia but it is headed clear.
• 73': GOAL! Honda delivers a sumptuous cross from the corner and Yuyu Osako rises and puts the header inside the goalpost. Colombia 1-2 Japan
• 70': SUBSTITUTION no.3 for Colombia. Izquierdo out, Bacca out
• 70': SUBSTITUTION no.1 for Japan. And it's Keisuke Honda who comes in for Shinji Kagawa.
• 68': It's a one-way traffic. Japan are the one making all the noise. Colombia yet to come up with a real attacking move in this half
• 66': Inui with another move from the left, gets past a couple of Colombian defenders and once again, sends a curler which is headed clear.
• 64': YELLOW CARD for Wilmar Barrios after his foul on Kagawa - stood on the Japanese goalscorer's foot.
• 61': Sakai with a low shot towards the goalmouth but he makes a mess of it.
• 60': SUBSTITUTION no. 2 for Colombia and it's James Rodriguez who enters the park amidst a loud reception. He replaces the goalscorer Quintero.
• 60': Shibaski lobs a free kick inside the Colombian box and Yoshida makes the leap but his header flies safely over the post.
• 57': Ospina is being tested fully here. He has been forced to pull off another tight save. Inui from the left with a curling attempt to the bottom right. Ospina with a full stretch save to palm that away.
• 54': Ospina with a brilliant save as Osako drills a low shot to the left post.
• 48': It's a positive start from the Japanese team, Nagatomo bursts through from left and sends a cross to the centre but Murillo clears the danger with a header.
• 47': We are underway for the second half

HALF-TIME: COLOMBIA 1-1 JAPAN

Absolutely riveting stuff in the first half. Colombia were down to 10 men after three minutes following a straight red-card to Carlos Sanchez - the second fastest in World Cup history. Shinji Kagawa calmly converted the resulting spot-kick. Then Falcao won a free-kick with the first half coming to an end. Quintero took an excellent freekick with the ball rolling past the wall and away from the grasp of Japanese custodian.

• 45+1': One minute of added extra time. It's 1-1. Colombians do not look they are a man short. They have taken their game to another level after the much-needed equaliser.
• 42': Japanese looked unhappy after that goal. What were they contesting? Goalline proved the ball was well inside. They might have been unhappy with the awarding of the freekick as Falcao looked to have gone down easily.
• 39': GOAL! A clever freekick from Quintero as his grounded shot gets past the wall and the Japanese goalie! He says it did not cross the line. Umpire go for the VAR. Goalline technology pressed into service and it proves the ball was well past the line.
• 37': Falcao goes down rather easily. And the referee has awarded a freekick to Colombia just outside the box. Juan Fernando Quintero with the freekick.
• 36': Foul on Falcao. Freekick for Colombia. Well defended by Japan.
• 34': CHANCE FOR COLOMBIA! A beautiful lofted pass from outside the box and Falcao sticks out his leg but Ospina comfortable makes the catch.
• 33': Nagatomo skips past two defenders and his deflected cross lands at the top of the net. Corner for Japan.
• 31': SUBSTITUTION: Colombia with their first of the match - Cuadrado out, Wilmar Barrios in
• 30': Japan are sitting deep. And seem happy to hit back on the counter as of now.
• 29': Throw in for Colombia. Finds the target but Japan steal the ball. A foul and a freekick for Japan. Meanwhile, Colombian coach is lining up a substitution
• 25': A brilliant cross from the left and Cuadrado makes a brilliant run inside but it has been cleared out. Corner for Colombia. Cuadrado makes another attempt but Osako blocks it.
• 23': Corner for Japan. A short one this. Japan have conceded a freekick.
• 22': A quiet period of play. Fans are egging the players on to engage more. More passes.
• 19': Another attack from Colombia. A yellow shirt - Cuadrado - is down. Plays go on. Now a Japanese goes down. But the play continues. No fouls given.
• 18': Cuadrado enters the box from the left and after some wriggling manages to get a corner. The referee rules the final touch came from him. So no corner. Goal kick for Japan.
• 15': CHANCE for Japan! After some pressure from Colombia, Japan break free after some poor display from the Colombian midfield. And it's Shinji Kagawa who finds space near the box but he goes for Inui who is free on his left but Inui's resulting shot is weak. The ball rolls wide of the far post to safety zone.
• 11': A freekick to Colombia in a dangerous position. Quintero lobs the ball for Falcao who sticks out his leg to push the ball in but Eiji Kawashima grabs it easily with both his gloves.
• 10': It's been a stunning start to the game. Colombia are trailing 0-1 after conceding an early penalty. They are pushing quite hard to draw level.
• 8': Cuadrado surges ahead from the right flank and as enters the box, attempts to pass the ball to teammate Arias. That amounts to zilch as the offside flag goes up.
• 6': GOAL! Shinji Kagawa will take the penalty and he calmly deposits it to the left of Colombian custodian David Ospina.
• 3': RED CARD for Sanchez for deliberate handball. It's Penalty for Japan. Falcao is contesting the decision. What a start! After Ospina was made to pull all stops to save a searing shot from Osako, the rebound fell to Kagawa and his shot was blocked by Carlos Sanchez - but with his hand. A straight red-card. And Colombia are down to 10 men. SECOND FASTEST RED CARD IN WORLD CUP HISTORY.
• 1': We are underway at Mordovia Arena. Japan will get things started. Oh! It was Falcao who won the toss and therefore there is some delay in the start. Now we are truly undewray. An early free kick for Colombia in their own half. Played back.

#Colombians are in their yellow and white. Japan in Blue
#Teams are out in the park and it's time for the national anthems
Starting line-ups are in!


Colombia
David Ospina - Oscar Murillo, Santiago Arias, Johan Mojica, Davidson Sanchez - Carlos Sanchez, Juan Cuadrado, Juan Quintero, Jefferson Lerma - Radamel Falcao (capt), Jose Izquierdo

Coach: Jose Pekerman (ARG)

Japan
Eiji Kawashima - Gen Shoji, Yuto Nagatomo, Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida - Gaku Shibasaki, Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa, Takashi Inui, Makoto Hasebe (capt) - Yuya Osako

Coach: Akira Nishino (JPN)

Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)

Courtesy: TOI