47’: Trying, Trying An early turnover for Colombia. Santiago Arias was trying to make something happen, but his pass was too far afield. 46’: Colombia Needs a Goal Second half is underway, with Colombia needing a goal to advance, as things currently stand. Group H Struggling to Find a Goal It seems all of Group H has forgotten how to score today. Japan and Poland are tied at 0-0, as well. If those results hold, Japan and Senegal advance. If Poland manages to get a lead in the second half, Senegal and Colombia might as well dig in — a draw for them and a Poland win would send both Senegal and Colombia through. Halftime: Colombia 0, Senegal 0 Few would be tempted to call that first half “pretty,” but Senegal, at least, will be pleased with their standing. They’ve given up few opportunities to Colombia, and just one real shot. And the sight of James Rodriguez — so instrumental in Colombia’s offense against Poland — limping off was as welcome for Senegal as it was devastating for Colombia. Falcao and Juan Cuadrado will have to find ways to link up in the second half to spark the Cafeteros’ attack. 45’: Colombia Comes Up Short One final Colombian push before halftime comes up empty, and the teams will go into the locker room scoreless after 45 minutes. 45’: Yellow for Johan Mohica A Senegalese counterattack led by Mane is broken up by a body check from Johan Mohica, who earns a yellow card for his effective foul. The free kick floats dangerously toward the back post but bounces out untouched. 43’: Colombia Stalls Falcao receives decent service outside the Senegal area, but he loses control trying to make something happen in the middle of three defenders and is called for a foul. Nothing much from Colombia’s offense as of late. 41’: Another Colombian Hurt Johan Mojica is down, apparently injured near Colombia’s end line. Juan Quintero sprinted over to the sideline to have a conversation with Colombia Manager Jose Pekerman, apparently about Mojica’s status. Mojica stays in for now, though, after a moment of treatment.<doc-sep>Senegal were full of pace, energy and effort but sadly bereft of chances as they were knocked out by Colombia and a few bookings too many<doc-sep>England's last-16 World Cup tie against Colombia is the national side's "biggest knockout game for a decade", says manager Gareth Southgate. England will play the South Americans on Tuesday after a 1-0 loss to Belgium saw them finish runners-up in Group G. Southgate said: "What we have to do is prepare for a thrilling knockout game. Our objective was to qualify from the group and we have done that. "We are still a work in progress but that's not a bad thing at this stage." England defeated Tunisia with a last-gasp Harry Kane goal and thrashed Panama 6-1 in their second game, as both themselves and Belgium guaranteed progress to the knockout stage with a match to spare. Southgate and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez made wholesale changes to their starting line-ups in Kaliningrad, with both aware that finishing second offers what appears a more favourable route through the knockout rounds. Should they beat Colombia, England will face Sweden or Switzerland, swerving a potential quarter-final against Brazil and also meaning they avoid the side of the draw which features four of the seven highest-ranked sides in the world. Adnan Januzaj settled the game for Belgium with a brilliantly-curled effort in the second half at the Kaliningrad Stadium. Southgate said: "This was a game we wanted to win but the knockout game is the biggest game for a decade so we needed to make sure our key players were reserved. The players gave everything. "We kept pressing until the end. I think the supporters understand what the most important thing is. None of us know if this side of the draw is advantageous or not. "Everybody is in the frame to play in the next game and it was important these players were given time on the pitch to press their case. Anybody that plays against Colombia will know they are match ready." Martinez added: "The only thing we are concentrating on is playing Japan. You have seen that making predictions in a World Cup is difficult. "We saw in the last three minutes that Spain topped their group, we saw how close Argentina came to going out. We are not looking at paths, we are seeing how well people contributed." 'Kane might have got a whack' Kane has been in prolific goalscoring form, netting 135 in all competitions for Tottenham over the last four seasons. The striker has been given the captaincy for the World Cup and started the tournament by scoring five goals in the first two games to top the Golden Boot chart, but he was left on the bench for the full 90 minutes against Belgium. "He was brilliant about it," Southgate told BBC Radio 5 live. "His priority, like ours, is the team. "He recognised what we were trying to do. If we played Harry Kane for 50 minutes tonight, and he takes a whack, we would have been foolish. He is a world-class striker and we want him to be ready for Colombia." Did Southgate risk losing momentum? Leaving Kane out of the side was one of eight changes made by Southgate from the Panama game and questions were asked about whether the loss had halted England's winning momentum. Two years ago, former boss Roy Hodgson was heavily criticised for making six changes in their final group game at Euro 2016 against Slovakia. England drew 0-0 to finish second in the group behind Wales, and were then beaten in the last 16 by Iceland. Southgate said: "With respect, in the Euros, we were only ahead for a few minutes of any of the games and here we've played well in the games leading up to this. Tonight, we've played OK. I don't think anyone played poorly. "We didn't have the link between the lines quite as well but there were good individual moments and a lot we can learn from. We don't like to lose matches, but the primary objectives from the game we've got. "Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and make decisions that might be criticised. But I think everyone's understood what we were trying to do." England practising penalties England's most recent penalty shootout defeat came against Italy at Euro 2012 The knockout stages mean England could face the prospect of a penalty shootout if scores are level after extra time. England have a horrendous record from the spot - losing via penalties at the 1990, 1998 and 2006 World Cups, as well as the 1996, 2004 and 2012 European Championships. "We have been practising and going through strategies since March," said Southgate. "We have done various different studies and had individual practice so it would be too late to start that now." 'A weird game' - MOTD analysis Former England captain Alan Shearer on Match of the Day: "It was a little bit flat, there definitely was not the spark and energy we have witnessed in the previous two games. "Belgium were the better team, they made the changes too but their players handled it better than ours. We lacked pace and the passing was not as crisp as it has been. We did not do enough to win the game, "I do not accept they did not know whether to win the game or not. It was not a game they had to win but they are representing the country. They wanted to keep the momentum going, winning is a great habit to have. "There has been a huge buzz but we should not get too down and despondent because there is a huge plus at the end of it." Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas: "Gareth Southgate said some of players needed 90 minutes and it looked that way for a few of the players. Eight changes to the side was maybe a step too far for what we have at our disposable. "Belgium dominated possession. It was a weird game, very strange but we have to look at the positives, we are through to the last 16."<doc-sep>James Rodriguez departed Colombia's World Cup game against Senegal through injury, leaving his coach Jose Pekerman to say he is "very worried" about his star midfielder. James was substituted after 30 minutes after the Bayern Munich man punched the turf in frustration before looking upset as he exited the game. "I am very worried," Pekerman said after Colombia advanced to the round of 16 with a 1-0 win. "The situation is tough for the team, it is not an easy situation." James did not start Colombia's opening game, a defeat to Japan, because of a calf injury and it appeared that may have resurfaced on Thursday. "He trained normally up until yesterday and even yesterday he stayed after practice, as he always does, taking extra shots, free kicks, penalties," Pekerman said. "He has been in optimum conditions for all the recent training sessions and at the last, we had no indication he was in any pain. Now, sincerely, I honestly don't know how he is." Pekerman said he would await the results of medical tests to make a determination on whether James would be able to play against England in the round of 16. "I don't have any confirmation of injury or any information at all," he said. "We must wait. We are hoping that it will be good news after the medical tests and then we will know for sure what has happened." James Rodriguez has endured a frustrating World Cup. Stu Forster/Getty Images Before leaving the game, James put in a frustrating performance in which he completed only two of 10 passes attempted. The 26-year-old won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup and this latest setback came four years ago to the day since his wonder strike against Uruguay earned him the Puskas award for best goal of that year. Colombia will miss Rodriguez's creativity and ability on the ball if he misses their last-16 encounter after they laboured to breakdown Senegal before Yerry Mina's bullet header in the 74th minute sealed a dramatic win. The result sent Colombia through as Group H winners while Senegal missed out on the knockouts by virtue of having a worse disciplinary record than rivals Japan. It was the first time in World Cup history that a team had been eliminated from the tournament because of the amount of yellow cards they had accrued. Pekerman acknowledged that it was a cruel way to exit the World Cup but no worse than losing on a penalty shootout. "We all knew when we came to the World Cup that these were the rules. It was incredible to be in this situation and hard for a team to take on," he said. "Had we been in their shoes we would have been disappointed. "It happens to anybody -- in a final or semifinal. Sometimes, a World Cup final is decided on penalties. It is extremely hard." Information from Reuters was used in this report.<doc-sep>
José Pekerman considered the prospect of a last‑16 collision with England and described it as a “full-on to the death match”. The manager and his Colombia team will play it in Moscow on Tuesday after emerging from a shoot-out against Senegal and in a group that twisted dramatically at the last. Colombia had needed to defeat Africa’s last remaining representative to make sure of their qualification – even though a draw would have sufficed because of Poland’s surprise 1-0 win over Japan – and they did so thanks to Yerry Mina’s towering 74th‑minute header from Juan Quintero’s corner. It was the moment for which Colombia had prayed and when it came the release of emotion was overwhelming. The result, coupled with that in the other Group H tie, meant Colombia advanced as the winners of the section and the delight was evident with all of Pekerman’s players, who performed a team dance routine after the goal. Up in the stands, the country’s legendary former midfielder Carlos Valderrama led the celebrations. It was a tempestuous occasion, framed by noise and colour, but the on-field spectacle failed to keep up. There was minimal goalmouth action, with Colombia mustering only two efforts on target. Senegal had three. But the outcome was all that mattered to Los Cafeteros, who had to contend with the loss of their marquee player, James Rodríguez, to injury after 31 minutes. Pekerman was unclear whether Rodríguez, who had carried a calf problem to this tournament, would be able to play against England and he declared himself to be “extremely concerned”. He added: “It’s a topic that could overshadow everything. It’s a tough situation for my team.” Poor Senegal. They controlled the first half and their performance was framed by sound tactics, organisation and aggressive pressing – together with speed on the counterattack. On the other hand they laboured to create clear-cut chances, messing up a clutch of promising situations. The roof fell in on them after Mina’s goal and in the end they were squeezed into third place and out of the competition on yellow cards accumulated, having finished level with Japan on points, goal difference and goals scored. Two bookings was the difference. Senegal had been determined to emulate their only previous showing at a World Cup – the quarter-final finish from 2002. Instead, they would make an unwanted piece of history. They are the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup on fair play criteria. 00:55 Senegal fans devastated as Colombians celebrate World Cup progress – video The stadium was swathed in bright yellow throughout – it was a Colombian takeover – and the din was deafening from first to last, although there was a gasp and silence on 17 minutes, when Senegal thought they had a penalty. The referee, Milorad Mazic, pointed to the spot after Davinson Sánchez jumped into a challenge on Sadio Mané, even if the decision looked harsh in real time. Enter VAR and it became apparent that although the Colombia defender might have brushed Mané’s shin first, he clearly took the ball. To the relief of the South Americans, the referee reversed the ruling. Aliou Cissé had started with Mané up front alongside the powerful and direct Mbaye Niang in a 4-4-2 and the movement of both strikers caused problems. Mané looked to have the beating of his markers, especially Mina, and it was an uncomfortable first-half for Colombia, although Senegal failed to work the goalkeeper, David Ospina. Colombia could point to a 12th‑minute free-kick from Quintero that bounced awkwardly in front of Khadim Ndiaye, forcing the goalkeeper to push it around a post, but they were disjointed for long periods. Poland have been one of the disappointments of the World Cup and yet there was a crescendo of noise from the Colombia support around the hour mark, when news of the Polish goal against Japan filtered through. Suddenly Colombia were in a position to qualify, although to rely on the Poles was not a sound idea. At that stage, Senegal were primed to finish on top of the group. Pekerman’s players were more assertive in the second half and began to gain a foothold higher up the pitch. Rodríguez’s replacement, Luis Muriel, saw a shot blocked by Kalidou Koulibaly and he was beaten to a through ball by the advancing Ndiaye before Mina got away from Cheikhou Kouyaté to score. Senegal stared at disaster and they rallied.