Sport

World Cup Day 11 Round-Up

Matchday 2 was brought to a close in spectacular fashion. England secured their qualification to the last 16 and Group H still remained wide open with Senegal, Japan and Colombia all contesting the top two spots.

England and Panama started the day off and it was another commanding first half performance from England who stormed into a 5-0 lead by half time. Their opponents were obviously lacking in quality but tried to level the playing field with a physical performance. Referee, Ghead Grisha wasn’t willing to let this go unpunished though and, following John Stones’ opening goal, awarded England two first half penalties with Harry Kane dispatching both with no trouble at all. Jesse Lingard was able score between the two penalties, a fantastic curled effort finding the top corner. John Stones put himself in contention for a hat trick with a second goal before half time but it was Kane who was able to find the net for a third time, the ball ricocheting off his heel from Loftus-Cheek’s effort with fortune being on England’s side too. The result lost a little sheen when Panama found a consolation with just over 10 minutes left but, with the celebrations that ensued it was hard not to raise a smile for the Central Americans.

England still looked a little shaky in defence at times but they commanded the game in a way we haven’t been used to in recent years. Backers of the handicap and overs market will be delighted by another great result for England!

The second game of the day featured Senegal and one of the surprise packages of the tournament so far in Japan. Things got off to a good start for Senegal, Mane opening the scoring from close range but Japan responded well and the sides went into the break level after a smart finish from Inui. The second half was a bit more even but Senegal found the net again, Wague netting with just under 20 minutes left. Once again, the Asian side responded well and Honda was able to put his side level again just 7 minutes later. That’s how the match finished and the two lesser fancied sides in Group H are in pole position to advance to the knockouts.

The both teams to score market was a strong one for this contest and with sides now having to find results to qualify it looks as though the overs market could well be worth considering more now too!

The third, and final, game of the day saw Poland take on Colombia. Both sides had unexpectedly lost their last game and with the earlier result in Group H a loss for either would see them eliminated from the competition. That’s exactly what happened for Poland with Colombia putting in an impressive performance to pick up a 3-0 win. Mina gave the South American’s the lead just before the break and Colombia eased to victory with Falcao and Cuadrado scoring within 5 minutes of each other to end Poland’s disappointing campaign.

The handicap market backers will be delighted with Colombia and disappointed with Poland in equal measures. Once again the overs market was the one to look at here!

Hero of the Day – It has to be Harry Kane! Two fantastic penalties, and one rather fortunate effort, makes the talismanic striker just the third Englishman to score a hat trick at the World Cup and secured England’s qualification to the last 16.

Zero of the Day – Robert Lewandowski can’t be solely blamed for Poland’s lack of impact at the tournament with the striker missing service throughout but the Bayern striker looks out of sorts and will be disappointed with his contribution for his nation so far.

Ref Watch – Grisha performed well in the England v Panama game, not allowing the physical Panamanians to get away with strongarm tactics In the box and he looks a good bet to take charge of games later in the tournament.

Fan Watch – There is a good feeling amongst England fans at the moment and this was seen in Nizhny Novgorod with the supporters being in good voice. The Colombians were good value in the stands as always and both Senegal and Japan will be proud of both their players and supporters!

We enter the third round of matches now and on Saturday the last 16 kicks off. There will be plenty of selections to back at Colossus Bets so take a look and see if there is a ticket or syndicate that takes your fancy!

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