The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H fixture between Poland and Colombia. The game kicks off on the 25th of June at 4:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live by SBS, who now have the rights to all remaining group stage matches.
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Poland
- FIFA World Rank: 8
- Elo Rating: 19
- Qualifying: Won Group E with a 8-1-1 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.
Squad:
- Coach: Adam Nawałka
- Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski (Ipswich), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)
- Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Thiago Cionek (SPAL), Kamil Glik (AS Monaco), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warszawa), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warszawa), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund)
- Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (VfL Wolfsburg), Jacek Goralski (Ludogorets Razgrad), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Bromwich Albion), Rafal Kurzawa (Gornik Zabrze), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Maciej Rybus (Lok
- Forwards: Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli), Lukasz Teodorczyk (Anderlecht)
Recent results:
- Poland 1 – 2 Senegal
19/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Poland 4 – 0 Lithuania
12/06/2018
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 2 – 2 Chile
08/06/2018
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 3 – 2 South Korea
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 0 – 1 Nigeria
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 0 – 1 Mexico
13/11/2017
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 0 – 0 Uruguay
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Poland - Poland 4 – 2 Montenegro
08/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Poland - Armenia 1 – 6 Poland
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Armenia - Poland 3 – 0 Kazakhstan
04/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Poland - Denmark 4 – 0 Poland
01/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Denmark - Poland 3 – 1 Romania
10/06/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Poland
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 22-12-6
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 36-4
- O/U 1.5 record: 31-9
- O/U 2.5 record: 26-14
- O/U 3.5 record: 19-21
- O/U 4.5 record: 8-32
- O/U 5.5 record: 5-35
- Wins
- Total wins: 22
- Won by 1 goal: 8
- Won by 2 goals: 5
- Won by 3 goals: 2
- Won by 4 goals: 3
- Won by 5 goals: 2
- Won by 5+ goals: 2
- Won to nil 11
- Losses
- Total losses: 6
- Lost by 1 goal: 4
- Lost by 2 goals: 1
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 1
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 3
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 40
- Clean Sheets: 15
- Held Scoreless: 7
- Both Teams Scored: 22
Colombia
- FIFA World Rank: 16
- Elo Rating: 9
- Qualifying: Fourth place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with a 7-6-5 record.
Squad:
- Coach: José Pékerman (Argentina)
- Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Arsenal), Camilo Vargas (Deportivo Cali), Jose Fernando Cuadrado (Once Caldas)
- Defenders: Cristian Zapata (Milan), Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham), Santiago Arias (PSV), Oscar Murillo (Pachuca), Frank Fabra (Boca Juniors), Johan Mojica (Girona), Yerry Mina (Barcelona)
- Midfielders: Wilmar Barrios (Boca Juniors), Carlos Sanchez (Espanyol), Jefferson Lerma (Levante), Jose Izquierdo (Brighton), James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich), Abel Aguilar (Deportivo Cali), Mateus Uribe (America), Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate), Juan Guillermo Cu
- Forwards: Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Miguel Borja (Palmeiras), Carlos Bacca (Villarreal), Luis Muriel (Sevilla)
Recent results:
- Colombia 1 – 2 Japan
19/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Colombia 0 – 0 Egypt
01/06/2018
Friendly, played in Italy - Australia 0 – 0 Colombia
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in England - France 2 – 3 Colombia
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in France - China 0 – 4 Colombia
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in China - South Korea 2 – 1 Colombia
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in Korea Republic - Peru 1 – 1 Colombia
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Peru - Colombia 1 – 2 Paraguay
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Colombia - Colombia 1 – 1 Brazil
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Colombia - Venezuela 0 – 0 Colombia
31/08/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Venezuela - Cameroon 0 – 4 Colombia
13/06/2017
Friendly, played in Spain - Spain 2 – 2 Colombia
07/06/2017
Friendly, played in Spain
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 21-12-12
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 38-7
- O/U 1.5 record: 29-16
- O/U 2.5 record: 20-25
- O/U 3.5 record: 10-35
- O/U 4.5 record: 5-40
- O/U 5.5 record: 1-44
- Wins
- Total wins: 21
- Won by 1 goal: 10
- Won by 2 goals: 6
- Won by 3 goals: 2
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 15
- Losses
- Total losses: 12
- Lost by 1 goal: 9
- Lost by 2 goals: 1
- Lost by 3 goals: 2
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 6
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 45
- Clean Sheets: 22
- Held Scoreless: 13
- Both Teams Scored: 17
Commentary
Poland commenced their campaign with a 2-1 loss to Senegal. The defeat was just their 8th out of 47 under coach Adam Nawałka. They were unable to hit their strides but there was an element of back luck with the goals they conceded. The first was an own goal that came off a wicked deflection and the second involved goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s calamitous mix-up with defender Jan Bednarek, who was unaware that Mbaye Niang had been allowed back on the pitch after receiving treatment on the sideline. With that being said, Senegal should have arguably scored more after getting in behind Poland’s defence on a number of occasions. Senegal also managed to nullify the threat of Robert Lewandowski. Getting him involved will be key for Poland given his 16 goals during 10 games of qualifying. Lewandowski only managed 1 goal in Euro 2016, which is a concern. Another concern is defence. Poland have kept just 2 clean sheets in their last 9 fixtures. They conceded 14 goals during 10 games of qualifying, which is by far the most of any European side that qualified for the tournament. Poland have gone 2-0-7 in their last 9 World Cup matches and they failed to keep a single clean sheet during those games. In team news, centre-back Kamil Glik has returned to full training after shoulder injury but remains in doubt for this game. Poland have a 4-0-5 record against South American opponents at the World Cup.
Colombia got their campaign off to a disastrous start with a 2-1 defeat to Japan. Carlos Sanchez was red carded and conceded a penalty in the 3rd minute, which put Colombia on the back foot from then on. They showed plenty of character to get back into the game with a late first half goal from a free kick, but the numerical disadvantage took its toll as Colombia tired and Japan scored the winner in the 73rd minute. Star player James Rodríguez, who was deemed not fit enough to start, was brought on in the second half but he was unable to find an equalizer. The result continues Colombia’s unwanted record of having never won a World Cup match in which they conceded the first goal. Colombia have a 2-5-2 record against European opponents in the World Cup, but a draw is not what they’re looking for given their matchday 1 defeat.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Poland vs. Colombia
The opening round of results has blown Group H wide open, with both Colombia and Poland now needing to win this clash. With James Rodríguez likely to start and Poland’s defensive frailties, I expect Colombia to score. At the same time, Poland have been held scoreless in just 7 of their 40 games over the last 4 years.
Betting tip: back both teams to score at 1.92 (Unibet)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more