MOSCOW: The first match on Day 6 of FIFA World Cup 2018 will see Colombia and Japan locking horns with each other at Mordovia Arena Stadium in Russia’s Saransk. Colombia will look to 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez and top scorer Radamel Falcao for inspiration when they take on Japan in their Group H FIFA World Cup opener here on Tuesday.
Here are the live updates from the match:
Lineups
Japan XI: Eiji Kawashima; Yuto Nagatomo, Gen Shoji, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai; Gaku Shibasaki, Makoto Hasebe; Takashi Inui, Shinji Kagawa, Genki Haraguchi; Yuya Osako
Colombia XI: David Ospina; Johan Mojica, Davinson Sanchez, Oscar Murillo, Santiago Arias; Carlos Sanchez, Jefferson Lerma; Jose Izquierdo, Juan Quintero, Juan Cuadrado; Radamel Falcao.
Colombia have tougher outings against Poland and Senegal after the Japan game and the Andean nation will look to repeat their group stage 4-1 2014 World Cup triumph over the Blue Samurais. Colombia were at their best in Brazil four years ago, reaching the quarter-finals, their best result ever. Since then, they have endured a downturn though, surviving a wretched World Cup qualifying campaign for Russia.
Colombia:
Goalkeepers – Jose Cuadrado, David Ospina, Camilo Vargas.
Defenders – Santiago Arias, Yerry Mina, Johan Mojica, Oscar Murillo, Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Zapata, Farid Diaz.
Midfielders – Abel Aguilar, Wilmar Barrios, Juan Cuadrado, Jefferson Lerma, Juan Quintero, James Rodriguez, Carlos Sanchez, Mateus Uribe.
Forwards – Carlos Bacca, Miguel Borja, Radamel Falcao, Jose Izquierdo, Luis Muriel
Japan:
Goalkeepers – Elji Kawashima, Masaaki Higashiguchi, Kosuke Nakamura.
Defenders – Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Wataru Endo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Gotoku Sakai, Gen Shoji, Naomichi Ueda.
Midfielders – Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui, Shinji Kagawa, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Takashi Usami, Gaku Shibasaki, Ryota Oshima.
Forwards – Shinji Okazaki, Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto
Source: Zee News