One of many interesting World Cup group H matchups takes place on Sunday June 24th when Poland takes on Colombia in Kazan, Russia. These teams have played each other on 7 different occasions prior to this World Cup, the most recent match being in 2006. Poland has the better record, having won four of those matches to Colombia's two. The last game was in 2006. This time around, there will be a lot on the line, as both countries posture for a position in the knockout round. Prior to the start of the World Cup, Poland was expected to make it out on top of this group, with Senegal and Colombia battling it out for second. However now that both Poland and Colombia have lost their first match, those predictions have been turned on their head. Still, for this game, Poland has a slight advantage according to our World Cup betting odds.
Colombia
James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao were not able to provide the one-two scoring punch that Colombia needed against Japan in the first game of the World Cup. While they lead an impressive offense that guided Colombia through a very competitive CONMEBOL qualifying round, things did not go as planned versus Japan, who on paper is a much weaker squad. Now, instead of heading into their game against Poland with 3 points, they are arriving empty-handed and desperate. After having their best showing ever in 2014, expectations are very high in Colombia for this World Cup.
Poland
Both of the goals that Poland conceded in their 2-1 loss to Senegal were unlucky. The first was a deflected shot off of one of their own players and the second was a strange sequence where Senegal's M'Baye Niang left the field with an injury and then came back on just as a long pass back to the Polish defense was headed his way. He intercepted it and scored on a breakaway. Other than those two blunders, Poland played a good game, controlling possession of the ball and generating decent scoring opportunities. If they play the same way against Colombia and get a little luck on their side, they should fare better
Poland has been on an upswing ever since the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, having made it to the quarter-finals of the Euro 2016 tournament, in which they beat Germany for the first time in their history during the qualifying stages. In qualifying for the World Cup, Robert Lewandowski shined, netting hat tricks in three different games (vs. Denmark, Romania and Armenia) and lead all UEFA players in goals en route to qualifying with an 8-1-1 record.
Match Overview
This game will go a long way in deciding each team's fate in the group stage. After both Japan and Senegal had upsets in their first games, this whole group is up in the air. Expect Poland to win this game, as they have a more dependable midfield and established leadership, but Colombia is in no way a pushover. If Colombia is able to find a way to maximize their scoring potential, it is also easy to imagine Poland suffering a loss here.
