FIFA WORLD CUP 2018

FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 – Poland vs Colombia PREVIEW

Two sides who have had very disappointing starts to the world cup, underperforming and now putting themselves in a tough position. A loss here for either side could kill their world cup hopes, a winner has a chance to salvage their world cup. A draw does no one good. So will it be Poland or Colombia that will salvage their world cup?

POLAND

Poland started off their campaign in a very disappointing fashion. The Polish performance was poor, they barely created anything, Lewandowski’s major tournament struggles continued as he got shut out and then a few horrible mistakes at the back got them eventually punished. The miss of the man CB Glik was obvious as Poland seemed very lack luster at the back, they lacked a leader in that position. There were moments in the game where Poland played so badly, the fans actually started to boo them. Misplaced passes, lack of energy, it was just poor. Senegal just simply physically outmatched them. I mean if you look at the way Poland scored for fun in the qualifiers against decent sides, you wouldn’t think that was the same team in the opener of the world cup. Now of course Poland know that their backs are against the wall and their main men especially Lewandowski have to respond. A loss here and it’s most likely over.

Going into the Colombia game, the task is obvious. It’s a must win. Poland were shocking to open up, but surely they’ll improve? Poland has to sort out the gaps in defence, they look very shaky at the back and given the attacking players that Colombia have they could easily cut open Poland’s defence with ease which is why Poland have to sort out the backline. Somebody has to step in and lead the back line in the absence of Glik. Going forward, someone has to create, we know how good they can be going forward with players such as Zielinski, Krychowiak, Milik, Blaszczykowski, Lewandowski, it’s just that for some reason to start the tournament they looked horrible. Lewandowski must put in a better performance, as a leader and the best player he’s the one who needs to set the tone. If Poland show better organisation, cut out the ridiculous mistakes they’ve made in the prior game and going forward we see more creativity then they have a chance. They must improve overall, simple as.

COLOMBIA

Just like Poland, Colombia are in the same situation after a disappointing start. However, there was a huge moment early in the game that cause Colombia to lose. The 3rd minute sending off by Carlos Sanchez and a penalty goal by Japan early, made Colombia work a lot harder and with a man disadvantage for the whole game it was really hard to evaluate them. They came back from a goal down solidly however, they tied the score and going into half time it seemed like they were the ones playing against 10 men, Quintero looked like a difference maker in that 1st half. However eventually Japan took over the game and dominated the 2nd half. Now we don’t know whether it was Japan who turned it on, or was it Colombia who just ran out of gas. We only saw 20 minutes of James Rodriguez, he didn’t start due to picking up a knock and he made a little difference, had a chance but didnt convert it and didn’t have enough time to fully turn the game around. Colombia’s star striker Falcao also had a relatively poor performance like Lewandowski, he ghosted for a lot of the game which is understandable given the fact that he was a lone striker playing for a team with 10 men. It was a disappointing result, but now playing 11 v 11 and with possibly James starting, we’ll see how good Colombia truly are. They must avoid any silly moments like in the opening game when Carlos Sanchez gave up a ridiculous red card by handballing the ball in the box, it’s a must win for Colombia now.

Coming up against Poland, there many things Colombia have to improve on. First of all of course don’t get a red card in the 3rd minute. But jokes aside, they have to get James Rodriguez to start and find a way keep Quintero in the lineup too as he’s been their most dangerous man in the opening game. Falcao needs to get involved because we all know how good he is in front of goal and by having James and Quintero playing together, I’m pretty sure Falcao would get chances to score. Defensively, Colombia have to be on their game as Poland do have very threatening players, it may not have came off for them in the first game but Colombia can’t sit there and say that Poland wont come again. Lewandowski is someone Colombia absolutely have to mark out of the game, they need to look at the way other nations have dealt with Lewandowski in the major tournaments over the years. Colombia do have a top class defender in Davinson Sanchez who can be a huge key in stopping Lewandowski and the rest of the Polish attack. Colombia are the better team, expect them to set up to play attacking football and with the attacking talent that they have because Poland do have a very suspect defence and if everything goes right, we should expect Colombia to win.

Prediction

We’ll see attacking football, both sides have great talent going forward and they both need to get a win here. Poland were terrible in the first game and we should expect a better performance by players like Milik, Blasczykowski, Zielinski, Lewandowski who’ve been very quiet in the opener. Can’t really see Poland being strong defensively however, the miss of Glik is huge and it showed in the opening game and it could get even worse for them having to deal with the likes of James, Cuadrado, Quintero, Falcao. Colombia have fantastic players going forward, it hasn’t come off for them however over the recent years when it comes to scoring goals however we have to trust their talent in this game to break down a very suspect defence. Both teams will score goals, expect both strikers to bounce back, but eventually Colombia are the better team and would expect them to come through with a win. It will be an intense game which Colombia will win 1-2.

Group Standings

1 Senegal 3 pts +1 GD

2 Japan 3 pts +1 GD

3 Colombia 0 pts -1 GD

4 Poland 0 pts -1 GD

ODDS – Decimal (WilliamHill)

Poland Win – 3.20

Draw – 3.30

Colombia Win – 2.25

KICK OFF – 24th June 2018 – 7pm UK Time