# 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H

Group H of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 19 to 28 June 2018. The group consisted of Poland, Senegal, Colombia, and Japan. The top two teams, Colombia and Japan, advanced to the round of 16. For the first time in World Cup history, the "fair play" rule was invoked to break a tie. Japan and Senegal finished with identical scores and goal differences to tie for second behind Colombia. Japan were awarded the place in the round of 16 based on receiving fewer yellow cards in their three matches.

## Teams

| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings | FIFA Rankings |
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | October 2017 | June 2018 |
| H1 | Poland | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group E winners | 8 October 2017 | 8th | 2006 | Third place (1974, 1982) | 6 | 8 |
| H2 | Senegal | 3 | CAF | CAF third round group D winners | 10 November 2017 | 2nd | 2002 | Quarter-finals (2002) | 32 | 27 |
| H3 | Colombia | 2 | CONMEBOL | CONMEBOL Round Robin fourth place | 10 October 2017 | 6th | 2014 | Quarter-finals (2014) | 13 | 16 |
| H4 | Japan | 4 | AFC | AFC third round group B winners | 31 August 2017 | 6th | 2014 | Round of 16 (2002, 2010) | 44 | 61 |

### Notes

* ↑ The rankings of October 2017 were used for seeding for the final draw.

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Colombia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
* 1 2 Fair play points: Japan −4, Senegal −6.
In the round of 16:
* The winners of Group H, Colombia, advanced to play the runners-up of Group G, England.
* The runners-up of Group H, Japan, advanced to play the winners of Group G, Belgium.

## Matches

All times listed are local time.

### Colombia vs Japan

The two teams had met in three previous matches, most recently in a 2014 FIFA World Cup group stage game, won by Colombia 4–1.
In the third minute, Carlos Sánchez blocked Shinji Kagawa's 20-yard shot with his arm, denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity and the referee pointed to the penalty spot before showing the midfielder a straight red card. After lengthy protests, Sánchez eventually left the field and Kagawa slotted the penalty into the bottom right corner of the net. José Pékerman then replaced Juan Cuadrado with Wílmar Barrios at the half-hour mark, and an equaliser arrived nine minutes later, from a Juan Fernando Quintero free kick, shot low under the jumping wall which the goalkeeper failed to keep out. In the second half, David Ospina dived full length to his left to stop Takashi Inui's curling 20-yard shot. Yuya Osako then headed the ball into the far corner of the net from a Keisuke Honda corner from the left. With 13 minutes left, James Rodríguez's strike from inside the box was turned over the crossbar by the outstretched leg of Osako.
Quintero became the first Colombian player in history to score at two World Cups. Japan became the first Asian team to beat a side from South America in the competition's history. Honda became the first player from an Asian nation to provide an assist in three different World Cup tournaments since 1966. Eiji Kawashima (35 years, 91 days) became the oldest player to appear for Japan in a World Cup finals match.
| Colombia | Japan |
| GK | 1 | David Ospina |
| RB | 4 | Santiago Arias |
| CB | 23 | Davinson Sánchez |
| CB | 3 | Óscar Murillo |
| LB | 17 | Johan Mojica |
| CM | 6 | Carlos Sánchez | 3' |
| CM | 16 | Jefferson Lerma |
| RW | 11 | Juan Cuadrado | | 31' |
| AM | 20 | Juan Fernando Quintero | | 59' |
| LW | 21 | José Izquierdo | | 70' |
| CF | 9 | Radamel Falcao (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 5 | Wílmar Barrios | 64' | 31' |
| MF | 10 | James Rodríguez | 86' | 59' |
| FW | 7 | Carlos Bacca | | 70' |
| Manager: ||
| José Pékerman ||
| GK | 1 | Eiji Kawashima |
| RB | 19 | Hiroki Sakai |
| CB | 22 | Maya Yoshida |
| CB | 3 | Gen Shoji |
| LB | 5 | Yuto Nagatomo |
| CM | 17 | Makoto Hasebe (c) |
| CM | 7 | Gaku Shibasaki | 80' |
| RW | 8 | Genki Haraguchi |
| AM | 10 | Shinji Kagawa | 70' |
| LW | 14 | Takashi Inui |
| CF | 15 | Yuya Osako | 85' |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 4 | Keisuke Honda | 70' |
| MF | 16 | Hotaru Yamaguchi | 80' |
| FW | 9 | Shinji Okazaki | 85' |
| Manager: ||
| Akira Nishino ||
* Man of the Match:
* Yuya Osako (Japan)
* Assistant referees:
* Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia)
* Robert Vukan (Slovenia)
* Fourth official:
* Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Anouar Hmila (Tunisia)
* Video assistant referee:
* Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Bastian Dankert (Germany)
* Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)
* Felix Zwayer (Germany)

### Poland vs Senegal

The two teams had never met before.
Senegal had the first clear chance in the 18th minute, M'Baye Niang dragging an effort wide after a break. Senegal took the lead when Idrissa Gueye's 20-yard shot took a huge deflection off Thiago Cionek to flick in Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny's goal and give Senegal the lead. Robert Lewandowski stepped up to float a 25-yard free-kick over the wall, Khadim N'Diaye dived to turn the ball away. Grzegorz Krychowiak hooked a high ball back towards his own goal from inside the Senegal half and with Szczesny attempting to intercept by coming out of his penalty area, Niang knocked the ball past him before side footing into an unguarded goal. Arkadiusz Milik slotted a Łukasz Piszczek cross wide at the near post. Dawid Kownacki's headed attempt was saved late on by N'Diaye but the goalkeeper was beaten by Krychowiak's header with five minutes to go after a free kick from the right.
Cionek became the first Polish player to score an own goal in a World Cup match. Cionek's own goal was only the second time an African nation has benefited from an own goal in a World Cup match, after Andoni Zubizarreta for Spain against Nigeria in 1998. Senegal continued their impressive undefeated run in an opening World Cup match, having beaten France 1–0 in 2002.
| Poland | Senegal |
| GK | 1 | Wojciech Szczęsny |
| RB | 20 | Łukasz Piszczek | | 83' |
| CB | 4 | Thiago Cionek |
| CB | 2 | Michał Pazdan |
| LB | 13 | Maciej Rybus |
| CM | 10 | Grzegorz Krychowiak | 12' |
| CM | 19 | Piotr Zieliński |
| RW | 16 | Jakub Błaszczykowski | | 46' |
| AM | 7 | Arkadiusz Milik | | 73' |
| LW | 11 | Kamil Grosicki |
| CF | 9 | Robert Lewandowski (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| DF | 5 | Jan Bednarek | | 46' |
| FW | 23 | Dawid Kownacki | | 73' |
| DF | 18 | Bartosz Bereszyński | | 83' |
| Manager: ||
| Adam Nawałka ||
| GK | 16 | Khadim N'Diaye |
| RB | 22 | Moussa Wagué |
| CB | 3 | Kalidou Koulibaly |
| CB | 6 | Salif Sané | 49' |
| LB | 12 | Youssouf Sabaly |
| RM | 10 | Sadio Mané (c) |
| CM | 13 | Alfred N'Diaye | | 87' |
| CM | 5 | Idrissa Gueye | 72' |
| LM | 18 | Ismaïla Sarr |
| CF | 9 | Mame Biram Diouf | | 62' |
| CF | 19 | M'Baye Niang | | 75' |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 11 | Cheikh N'Doye | | 62' |
| FW | 14 | Moussa Konaté | | 75' |
| MF | 8 | Cheikhou Kouyaté | | 87' |
| Manager: ||
| Aliou Cissé ||
* Man of the Match:
* M'Baye Niang (Senegal)
* Assistant referees:
* Yaser Tulefat (Bahrain)
* Taleb Al Maari (Qatar)
* Fourth official:
* Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Mohamed Al Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
* Video assistant referee:
* Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Tiago Martins (Portugal)
* Hernán Maidana (Argentina)
* Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)

### Japan vs Senegal

The two teams had faced each other three times, most recently in a friendly in 2003, won by Senegal 1–0.
Senegal took the lead in the 11th minute when Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima spilled a Youssouf Sabaly shot into the path of Sadio Mané, who hit the ball in from close range. Japan responded in the 34th minute when Yuto Nagatomo received a ball over the top and sent it to Takashi Inui, who curled a shot into the bottom corner past the Senegalese defenders. Yuya Osako missed a close chance in front of the Senegal net and Inui's shot struck the crossbar, before Senegal retook the lead in the 71st minute, when Moussa Wagué finished a low Sabaly cross into the top corner. Japan equalised again just seven minutes later, when Senegal goalkeeper Khadim N'Diaye failed to collect an Osako cross, leading to Inui sending the ball to Japanese substitute Keisuke Honda, who finished at the near post.
Wagué became the youngest African goalscorer at a World Cup, at the age of 19 years and 268 days. With his goal, Honda became the first Japanese player to score at three different World Cups, as well as the top scoring Asian player in World Cup history with four goals. Japan equalled their best points tally of four after two group games at a World Cup, just as they did as co-hosts in 2002.
| Japan | Senegal |
| GK | 1 | Eiji Kawashima |
| RB | 19 | Hiroki Sakai |
| CB | 22 | Maya Yoshida |
| CB | 3 | Gen Shoji |
| LB | 5 | Yuto Nagatomo |
| CM | 17 | Makoto Hasebe (c) | 90+4' |
| CM | 7 | Gaku Shibasaki |
| RW | 8 | Genki Haraguchi | | 75' |
| AM | 10 | Shinji Kagawa | | 72' |
| LW | 14 | Takashi Inui | 68' | 87' |
| CF | 15 | Yuya Osako |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 4 | Keisuke Honda | | 72' |
| FW | 9 | Shinji Okazaki | | 75' |
| MF | 11 | Takashi Usami | | 87' |
| Manager: ||
| Akira Nishino ||
| GK | 16 | Khadim N'Diaye |
| RB | 12 | Youssouf Sabaly | 90' |
| CB | 3 | Kalidou Koulibaly |
| CB | 6 | Salif Sané |
| LB | 22 | Moussa Wagué |
| CM | 17 | Badou Ndiaye | | 81' |
| CM | 13 | Alfred N'Diaye | | 65' |
| CM | 5 | Idrissa Gueye |
| RF | 18 | Ismaïla Sarr |
| CF | 19 | M'Baye Niang | 59' | 86' |
| LF | 10 | Sadio Mané (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 8 | Cheikhou Kouyaté | | 65' |
| MF | 11 | Cheikh N'Doye | 90+1' | 81' |
| FW | 9 | Mame Biram Diouf | | 86' |
| Manager: ||
| Aliou Cissé ||
* Man of the Match:
* Sadio Mané (Senegal)
* Assistant referees:
* Elenito Di Liberatore (Italy)
* Mauro Tonolini (Italy)
* Fourth official:
* Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Taleb Al Maari (Qatar)
* Video assistant referee:
* Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Tiago Martins (Portugal)
* Hernán Maidana (Argentina)
* Paolo Valeri (Italy)

### Poland vs Colombia

The two teams had met in five matches, most recently in a 2006 friendly, won by Colombia 2–1.
Abel Aguilar was taken from the field on a stretcher in the 32nd minute and was replaced by Mateus Uribe. Shortly after, a cross by James Rodríguez from the right was met by the head of Yerry Mina, who lost his marker to head over Wojciech Szczęsny's outstretched arms and into the net. Juan Fernando Quintero fired wide from 25 yards at the start of the second half. Juan Cuadrado then squared to Radamel Falcao on the edge of the box who lifted his shot well over the crossbar. In the 58th minute, Robert Lewandowski controlled a long pass only to shoot straight into David Ospina's midriff as Poland attempted their first shot on target of the game. Quintero's slide-rule pass presented Falcao with a one-on-one situation and he guided the ball past Szczęsny with the outside of his right foot to double his side's lead. With 15 minutes left on the clock, James' pass from the left found Cuadrado in space through the middle and he took a touch before finishing it into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Poland were the first European nation to be eliminated from the 2018 World Cup. Including Colombia's victory against Poland, there were 14 World Cup goals scored on 24 June 2018 - the most on a single day of action in the competition (maximum 3 games) since 10 June 1990 (also 14).
| Poland | Colombia |
| GK | 1 | Wojciech Szczęsny |
| CB | 20 | Łukasz Piszczek |
| CB | 5 | Jan Bednarek | 61' |
| CB | 2 | Michał Pazdan | | 80' |
| RM | 18 | Bartosz Bereszyński | | 72' |
| CM | 10 | Grzegorz Krychowiak |
| CM | 6 | Jacek Góralski | 85' |
| LM | 13 | Maciej Rybus |
| RF | 19 | Piotr Zieliński |
| CF | 9 | Robert Lewandowski (c) |
| LF | 23 | Dawid Kownacki | | 57' |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 11 | Kamil Grosicki | | 57' |
| FW | 14 | Łukasz Teodorczyk | | 72' |
| DF | 15 | Kamil Glik | | 80' |
| Manager: ||
| Adam Nawałka ||
| GK | 1 | David Ospina |
| RB | 4 | Santiago Arias |
| CB | 23 | Davinson Sánchez |
| CB | 13 | Yerry Mina |
| LB | 17 | Johan Mojica |
| CM | 8 | Abel Aguilar | 32' |
| CM | 5 | Wílmar Barrios |
| RW | 11 | Juan Cuadrado |
| AM | 20 | Juan Fernando Quintero | 73' |
| LW | 10 | James Rodríguez |
| CF | 9 | Radamel Falcao (c) | 78' |
| Substitutions: ||
| MF | 15 | Mateus Uribe | 32' |
| MF | 16 | Jefferson Lerma | 73' |
| FW | 7 | Carlos Bacca | 78' |
| Manager: ||
| José Pékerman ||
* Man of the Match:
* James Rodríguez (Colombia)
* Assistant referees:
* Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)
* Miguel Hernández (Mexico)
* Fourth official:
* Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Christian Schiemann (Chile)
* Video assistant referee:
* Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Gery Vargas (Bolivia)
* Roberto Díaz Pérez (Spain)
* Daniele Orsato (Italy)

### Japan vs Poland

The two teams had met twice, most recently in a friendly game in 2002, won by Japan 2–0.
Yoshinori Muto's drive forced Łukasz Fabiański to parry, before the goalkeeper smothered a Gōtoku Sakai effort. Eiji Kawashima scooped Kamil Grosicki's header clear. With just over half an hour remaining, Rafał Kurzawa's free-kick from the left picked out Jan Bednarek, who volleyed it into the net from six yards out. Maya Yoshida headed well wide from a left-wing corner. Robert Lewandowski steered Grosicki's pin-point pass over the top.
Poland beat Japan for the first time in an official match, having defeated Japan in four unofficial matches. Poland won each of their 14 games in which they scored first in World Cup finals. Poland kept a clean sheet at the World Cup for the first time since winning 1–0 against Portugal in 1986. On another side, since the new millennium, Poland had repeated their poor performances in 2002 and 2006 World Cups, eliminated after losing two opening matches before grabbing a late victory in the final match.
There was some criticism of the final minutes in the game, as both sides appeared to settle for the 1–0 scoreline.
| Japan | Poland |
| GK | 1 | Eiji Kawashima (c) |
| RB | 19 | Hiroki Sakai |
| CB | 22 | Maya Yoshida |
| CB | 20 | Tomoaki Makino | 66' |
| LB | 5 | Yuto Nagatomo |
| CM | 16 | Hotaru Yamaguchi |
| CM | 7 | Gaku Shibasaki |
| RW | 21 | Gōtoku Sakai |
| AM | 9 | Shinji Okazaki | | 47' |
| LW | 11 | Takashi Usami | | 65' |
| CF | 13 | Yoshinori Muto | | 82' |
| Substitutions: ||
| FW | 15 | Yuya Osako | | 47' |
| MF | 14 | Takashi Inui | | 65' |
| MF | 17 | Makoto Hasebe | | 82' |
| Manager: ||
| Akira Nishino ||
| GK | 22 | Łukasz Fabiański |
| CB | 18 | Bartosz Bereszyński |
| CB | 15 | Kamil Glik |
| CB | 5 | Jan Bednarek |
| RM | 21 | Rafał Kurzawa | 79' |
| CM | 10 | Grzegorz Krychowiak |
| CM | 6 | Jacek Góralski |
| LM | 3 | Artur Jędrzejczyk |
| RF | 19 | Piotr Zieliński | 79' |
| CF | 9 | Robert Lewandowski (c) |
| LF | 11 | Kamil Grosicki |
| Substitutions: ||
| FW | 14 | Łukasz Teodorczyk | 79' |
| MF | 17 | Sławomir Peszko | 79' |
| Manager: ||
| Adam Nawałka ||
* Man of the Match:
* Jan Bednarek (Poland)
* Assistant referees:
* Jerson Dos Santos (Angola)
* Zakhele Siwela (South Africa)
* Fourth official:
* Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Juan Carlos Mora (Costa Rica)
* Video assistant referee:
* Daniele Orsato (Italy)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Gery Vargas (Bolivia)
* Carlos Astroza (Chile)
* Paolo Valeri (Italy)

### Senegal vs Colombia

The two teams had met only once, a 2014 friendly game which ended in a 2–2 draw.
The referee awarded Senegal a penalty in the 17th minute. After consulting VAR, he judged that defender Davinson Sánchez had won the ball before making any contact with Sadio Mané. After half an hour, James Rodríguez was substituted with what appeared to be a recurrence of the injury that kept him out of Colombia's 2–1 loss to Japan. Mané took a free-kick in the 64th minute which he shot off-target. Kalidou Koulibaly got a touch on a Luis Muriel drive to deflect the ball narrowly wide. And in the 74th minute Colombia scored the decisive goal of the game, Juan Quintero's corner from the right found Yerry Mina who rose and crashed home a header that went through goalkeeper Khadim N'Diaye.
With Senegal being the last African team to be knocked out of Russia 2018, there were no teams from Africa in the round of 16 for the first time since the stage was introduced in 1986. Colombia were the only team to reach the knockout stage despite losing their opening match of the tournament. Senegal became the third team to be eliminated despite winning their opening game of the tournament (also Iran and Serbia); and even moreover, this was the first time Senegal got eliminated from the group stage, despite owning a huge advantage prior to the match against Colombia. The last time as many as three teams failed to get through the group stage despite winning their opener was in 2002 (Argentina, Costa Rica, and Russia).
| Senegal | Colombia |
| GK | 16 | Khadim N'Diaye |
| RB | 21 | Lamine Gassama |
| CB | 6 | Salif Sané |
| CB | 3 | Kalidou Koulibaly |
| LB | 12 | Youssouf Sabaly | | 74' |
| RM | 18 | Ismaïla Sarr |
| CM | 8 | Cheikhou Kouyaté (c) |
| CM | 5 | Idrissa Gueye |
| LM | 10 | Sadio Mané |
| CF | 20 | Keita Baldé | | 80' |
| CF | 19 | M'Baye Niang | 51' | 86' |
| Substitutions: ||
| DF | 22 | Moussa Wagué | | 74' |
| FW | 14 | Moussa Konaté | | 80' |
| FW | 15 | Diafra Sakho | | 86' |
| Manager: ||
| Aliou Cissé ||
| GK | 1 | David Ospina |
| RB | 4 | Santiago Arias |
| CB | 23 | Davinson Sánchez |
| CB | 13 | Yerry Mina |
| LB | 17 | Johan Mojica | 45' |
| CM | 15 | Mateus Uribe | | 83' |
| CM | 6 | Carlos Sánchez |
| RW | 11 | Juan Cuadrado |
| AM | 20 | Juan Fernando Quintero |
| LW | 10 | James Rodríguez | | 31' |
| CF | 9 | Radamel Falcao (c) | | 89' |
| Substitutions: ||
| FW | 14 | Luis Muriel | | 31' |
| MF | 16 | Jefferson Lerma | | 83' |
| FW | 19 | Miguel Borja | | 89' |
| Manager: ||
| José Pékerman ||
* Man of the Match:
* Yerry Mina (Colombia)
* Assistant referees:
* Milovan Ristić (Serbia)
* Dalibor Đurđević (Serbia)
* Fourth official:
* Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
* Reserve assistant referee:
* Hasan Al Mahri (United Arab Emirates)
* Video assistant referee:
* Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
* Assistant video assistant referees:
* Bastian Dankert (Germany)
* Elenito Di Liberatore (Italy)
* Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

## Discipline

Fair play points were used as tiebreakers because the overall and head-to-head records of Japan and Senegal were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:
* first yellow card: minus 1 point;
* indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
* direct red card: minus 4 points;
* yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
Only one of the above deductions were applied to a player in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 1 | Match 1 | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 2 | Match 2 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Match 3 | Match 3 | Match 3 | Points |
| Japan | 1 | | | | 2 | | | | 1 | | | | −4 |
| Senegal | 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 1 | | | | −6 |