Colombia win 3-0 to knock Poland out of WC

KAZAN/YEKATERINBURG, Russia: Goals from Yerry Mina, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado gave Colombia a convincing 3-0 win on Sunday against Poland, who were eliminated from contention at the World Cup before their last Group H match.

Mina headed home from close range in the 40th minute when midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero caught the Poland defence off guard from a short corner with a smart clipped pass to James Rodriguez who whipped it in first time with his left foot.

Quintero’s defence-splitting pass then gave captain Falcao, who missed the 2014 tournament due to injury, his first World Cup goal in the 70th, while Rodriguez got his second assist five minutes later when he set up Cuadrado to make it 3-0.

Meanwhile, in Yekaterinburg Midfielder Keisuke Honda came off the bench to salvage a 2-2 draw for Japan against Senegal, as both teams were locked at the top of Group H following an entertaining encounter on Sunday.

Veteran Honda, 32, who became the first Japanese player to score in three different World Cups, replaced Shinji Kagawa in the second half with his team down 2-1 and fired the equaliser in 12 minutes from time after an error by Senegal goalkeeper Khadim N’Diaye. Senegal thought they had claimed all three points as Moussa Wague drilled the ball into the top of the net in the 71st minute to make it 2-1, after Sadio Mane’s fortuitous first-half opener was cancelled out by Takashi Inui’s curling shot. But Honda ensured things ended level and deservedly so.