catalyst2 | Game # 39 - Japan vs Colombia

Despite the fact that Colombia were already through and it was Japan that had everything to play for, it was great to see that Colombia attacked .... and attacked ..... and attacked. Mind you, so did Japan which made this an exciting spectacle. After the first Colombian goal (from a penalty), Japan roared into life and attacked with every ounce of effort they could muster. At times the Colombian goal was under siege (Japan had almost twice as many shots as Colombia: 23-13) but Colombia's wonderful counterattacking style always left the Japanese goal at risk. The Japan did pull one back, literally on the stroke of half time and the second half continued much the same. This time though the Colombian counterattacks were successful and Colombia scored three more times, twice though Jackson Martinez and once through James Rodriguez, who is rapidly becoming one of my favourite players of the tournament. The game finished 1-4 to Colombia.

This meant that Colombia won all three of their games (scoring 9 goals in the process) and obviously going through in first place in the group, with Japan finishing last and being eliminated.