Colombia put to the samurai sword in World Cup opener

Colombia 1
Quintero 39
Japan 2
Kagawa pen 6, Osako 73

Three things we learned...

1The jury is still out on Japan
The early red card of Carlos Sanchez made the Group H opener in Saransk a tough one to assess. Colombia were forced to play most of the game with ten men which shifted the advantage heavily in the Samurai Blue's favour.

Not only did Colombia lose a man but they lost a key man. Sanchez was part of a double midfield pivot crucial to the team's style of regaining possession and breaking with pace.

His dismissal left Bournemouth target Jefferson Lerma to shield the rearguard single-handedly until Jose Pekerman brought on Wilmar Barrios later in the first half.

Akira Nishino's side deserve credit for punishing Colombia's ten men but it's probably best to reserve judgement until their games with Senegal and Poland.

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2Opponents should target Colombia's full-backs
Naturally the sending-off played its part but Colombia full-backs Santiago Arias and Johan Mojica struggled to nullify the threat of Japan's speedy wingers.

When in possession, Los Cafeteros piled forward in numbers, with their centre-backs splitting and Arias and Mojica on either side of defence pushing forward beyond the halfway line.

The pair's reluctance to track back allowed the likes of Takashi Inui and Genki Haraguchi to probe the Colombia goal from both flanks.

Poland and Senegal have pace in the final third and may look to exploit an area of the Colombia team clearly lacking in discipline.

3Group H has been blown right open
Many believed it would be a three-horse race for top spot in Group H with Japan ranked the third-lowest side in the tournament, assuming the role of the group's whipping boys.

This result has consequently made the tournament's most open group even more competitive.

Quarter-finalists four years ago, Colombia are now in desperate need of points heading into their clash with Poland in Kazan and failure to record victory there could spell the end of their 2018 World Cup campaign.

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