Japan can’t seem to get the ball right now. Poland is trying to kill off the game with some careful passing. Of course, the Japanese know they are currently advancing, but a goal by Senegal would change that. Japan gets the ball, and, well, it doesn’t exactly race toward goal with urgency. Both teams happy with the score as it stands. Japan is assuming Colombia will close out Senegal at 1-0. Here’s how Poland defeated Japan: 92’: Absolutely Nothing Is Happening It was also a bit risky for Japan: Had Senegal scored in the dying moments, Japan would have been out.įor Poland, which had already been eliminated, it was a win for pride. It was a strange ending to a World Cup game. With the game won, Poland was happy to do the same. Knowing the situation, Japan spent the last few minutes calmly passing the ball around. The sixth tiebreaker in the rule book is the so called “fair play” rule: whichever team had the fewest yellow and red cards in the tournament would advance. The teams had tied when they played head-to-head. But Senegal and Japan would be deeply, deeply tied for the second spot. With both games ending 1-0, Colombia would win the group. Japan’s elimination was seeming likely until news came from the other game that Colombia had scored to take a 1-0 lead over Senegal.

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