The group stage of the World Cup always leaves its best games for last, and this year is no exception as Senegal takes on Colombia in Samara, Russia at 10am eastern time on Thursday June 28th. Colombia saved its World Cup bid with a huge win over powerful Poland in their last match, and they can still finish first in the group, but they will need to win this game to do so. Senegal already has one upset in their books after their game one win over Poland and they will be looking for another upset versus Colombia to cement their spot in the knockout round. These two teams have played each other once before, in a 2014 international friendly match that ended in a 2-2 draw. For more information, Our World Cup betting odds have all the info you need to know who has the edge in this game.
Colombia
James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao really stepped up in their game vs Poland, keeping the hopes of Colombians everywhere alive when they most needed it. After their shocking 2-1 loss to Japan in the first game, Colombia needed a win against the group favorite Poland in order to stay alive, and James and Falcao, the two best players on Colombia's roster, delivered with a 3-0 victory. Falcao had the first insurance goal, while James played a solid all-around game, firing three shots on net and making sure that Poland stayed off the board. Look for these two to put together strong games again against Senegal as Colombia hopes to stay alive.
Senegal
With Japan garnering all the praise for being the surprise success at the World Cup this year, it is easy to overlook what Senegal has done. In beating Poland in their first game, they won against a team that went 8-1-1 in UEFA qualifying and had defeated Germany in the Euro 2016 tournament. They held the top scorer Robert Lewandowski off the board, something that only one other team (Denmark) had been able to do in Poland's run up to this World Cup. They then went head to head with a Japan team that was impossible to scout, as its roster and head coach were in limbo just days prior to the start of the tournament. Had it not been for Keisuke Honda's late goal, Senegal would have already wrapped up the #1 spot in this group. Regardless, they head into this game with a chance to claim that spot, and Sadio Mane and company will be playing for nothing less than a win here.
Match Overview
Colombia will need to put everything on the table if it hopes to repeat its 2014 run, and this game will be one of the most important in achieving that end. This is one of the tougher groups of the World Cup, as three teams are contending for the top two spots. With Poland out of the picture, Senegal and Japan so far have proven themselves to be the teams to beat. Even though Colombia is favored in this match, they still have to prove it to themselves and the soccer-watching public that they deserve to come out on top of this group. Depending on how the Japan-Poland game goes, whoever gets first place will depend on goal differential.
