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It’s the eleventh day of the 2018 Fifa World Cup. With only five days of group play left to go, France, Croatia, Uruguay, and host nation Russia have all secured berths in the knock-out rounds.
In the first match of the day, England face Panama in each team’s second Group G game. England will have a chance to secure a spot in the next round with a win, while Panama would be eliminated with a loss. The Three Lions should be motivated to get the job done today instead of trying to punch their ticket against Belgium on Thursday. The Belgian squad have established themselves as the team of Group G and one of the true contenders to lift the World Cup trophy, having made easy work of Panama and Tunisia and looking excellent in the process. Danny Welbeck, Arsenal’s lone representative for the England side, did not feature against Tunisia in the first match. If England can put the game to bed early, he could look to make an appearance in Harry Kane’s stead.
In Group H action, Japan faces Senegal in the day’s second match. Having both won their opening matches, a win for either side could secure a place in the next round. However, the Poland and Colombia match would have to end in a draw to make that a possibility. Japan took advantage of sloppy play by the Colombians in the first match, dispatching a ten-man Colombia side 2-1 after Carlos Sanchez was sent off within the first five minutes for a blatant handball in the box. Senegal’s speed proved to be too much for Poland to match, as they capitalized on mistakes by former Gunner Wojciech Szczesny as well as a little luck to put the game to bed, 2-1. Fun fact: Senegal have not lost a knockout stage game in the past two World Cups! They will look to make it five in a row against the Blue Samurai.
Poland will face Colombia in the day’s final game, and this game should have all the intensity you would expect out of two teams who will be desperate for a win to keep their World Cup hopes alive, as they both lost their first matches. If either team should win, they would have a chance at making it to the knockout rounds, although it would still be very slim. If the game ends in a draw, the winner of Japan and Senegal will be into the next round. A loss for either team will eliminate them if Japan and Senegal draw.
The lone Arsenal representative in the match will be Colombia’s beleaguered keeper, David Ospina. It is hard to make any judgement on his World Cup performance so far, as he was put behind the eight ball by his defenders in the first match. However, he did give up a goal on a set piece, which happens with enough regularity to nearly make it his trademark. He will need to be ready for the pace of Senegal’s attackers.
England vs Panama, Group G
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
5AM PT/8AM ET/1PM BT/3PM RT
US TV: Fox Sports One
US Stream: Telemundo
Japan vs Senegal, Group H
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM BT/6PM RT
US TV: Fox
US Stream: Telemundo
Poland vs Colombia, Group H
Kazan Arena, Kazan
11AM PT/2PM ET/7PM BT/9PM RT
US TV: Fox
US Stream: Telemundo