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Poland became the latest team to get knocked out of this year's FIFA World Cup after their 3-0 humbling at the hands of Colombia in the Group H encounter at the Kazan Arena. Adam Nawalka's men were completely outplayed on the night by a determined Colombian side who finally kick-started their campaign with a thumping win, after losing to Japan in their opening game.
Los Cafeteros scored their opening goal through Yerry Mina in the 43rd minute after the Barcelona defender found the back of the net with his head following a delightful ball into the area from James Rodriguez. Colombia continued to force the initiative on Poland in the second half and doubled their lead in the 70th minute through Radamel Falcao.
Juan Cuadrado provided the killer blow five minutes later to put the game to bed and crush Poland's hopes of making it to the knockout stages of the competition. The result, coupled with Senegal's 2-2 draw with Japan, now means that all three teams including Colombia have a fair chance of qualifying from Group H.
Without further delay, let us take a closer look at three reasons why Poland lost the plot against Colombia:
#1 Lack of invention at the top
Poland boarded the plane to Russia on the back of a strong qualifying campaign that saw them finish at the summit of their qualifying group. Robert Lewandowski was the architect behind their unparalleled success in Group E after the Bayern Munich striker notched up 16 goals during qualifying that made him Europe's top-scorer in qualifying ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku.
However, Poland have had serious issues while going forward ever since they landed in Russia and Lewandowski, who averaged a goal every 56 minutes in qualifying, has not opened his account for the tournament after more than 180 minutes of playing time. The striker was seen as a frustrated figure for the majority of the game against Colombia and failed to deliver the goals that could have kept Poland alive.
Part of his agonizing form in front of goal can be credited to the overall underperformance of his side but surely nobody expected Lewandowski to go missing prior to the tournament.
#2 Colombian masterclass in midfield
Colombia's performance showed their desire and hunger to get back to winning ways and they were rightfully rewarded for their stellar show over the course of the 90 minutes. One man at the heart of it all was James Rodriguez, who was Colombia's best player on the night after he claimed two assists on the night.
Rodriguez's curling delivery to find Yerry Mina helped Colombia get their noses in front just before half-time and it was his vision that paved the way for Juan Cuadrado's killer blow in the 75th minute. Juan Quintero, who scored Colombia's only goal against Japan in the opening game, also put on a show in midfield after impressing tremendously before he picked out Radamel Falcao with the perfect pass for their second goal of the night.
Poland had no answer to the sheer desire and commitment displayed by the Los Cafeteros in the middle of the park and once they hit cruise control, there was no stopping them.
#3 Giving their opponents the lion's share of possession
It was never going to be easy for Poland against Colombia, who would fight tooth and nail to keep their hopes alive and they made it a lot more harder for themselves when they slowly allowed Jose Pekerman's side to take full control of possession as the game went on. Initially, Poland were successful and enjoyed recycling possession in good areas of the pitch and dominated proceedings with the ball at their feet.
However, Colombia's relentless pursuit of trying to nick the ball back from Poland forced them onto their back foot and soon the ill-effects were starting to show. Adam Nawalka's men offered too much time on the ball to Colombia and Los Cafeteros slowly started picking them apart, thanks to some inspiring football from the likes of Rodriguez, Quintero and Cuadrado.
Poland struggled without the ball at their feet and in the end, made it all too easy for Colombia, who relished the opportunity of taking the game to their opponents.
