MOSCOW – Senegal midfielder Mbaye Niang saw the signal from the referee to re-enter following treatment for an injury and jogged along the center line. Then Niang noticed Poland’s Grzegorz Krychowiak loft a backpass to Jan Bednarek, who hadn’t realized Niang was back on the field.
Niang outsprinted goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to reach the ball about 40 yards from the net, knocked the ball forward and tapped it in for Senegal’s second fluky goal of the night. The Lions of Teranga held on for a 2-1 win over Poland and opened the World Cup with a surprising victory – just like in 2002.
“You have to deserve your luck,” Niang said. “We were rewarded today for our work. You have to seize your chances when they are given to you.”
Senegal became the first African team to win at this year’s World Cup after Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia were outscored 6-1 in losses.
It went ahead in the 37th minute when Thiago Cionek’s attempted block of Idrissa Gueye’s shot deflected and wrong-footed Szczesny, who was picked to start over fellow Arsenal castoff Lukasz Fabianski.
After Niang doubled the lead in the 60th, Krychowiak headed in Kamil Grosicki’s free kick in the 86th minute, ending a streak of five consecutive scoreless openers for Poland.
“Two goals following our mistakes was something that we were very unhappy with,” Poland coach Adam Nawalka said.
Senegal is tied for the group lead with Japan, which upset Colombia 2-1. Senegal will play Japan on Sunday, when Poland meets Colombia.
This win set off joy in the streets of Dakar.
“We are not too euphoric because we do know there is going to be a difficult match against Japan,” Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said.
Senegal President Macky Sall was in the stands to watch the world’s 27th-ranked team upset the eighth-ranked nation – and bring up memories of the 1-0 win over defending champion France 16 years ago.
“France and Senegal have a history,” said Cisse, who captained the 2002 team. “France was the country that colonized Senegal.”
Poland fans in red and white were about three-quarters of the crowd of 44,190 as their nation returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2006. Poland kept up its dismal streak of World Cup starts – it has four losses and three draws since beating Argentina in 1974.
Senegal took the lead when Niang went around Lukasz Piszczek on a flank following a restart and centered to Sadio Mane. The star midfielder passed to Gueye, whose right-footed shot from the arc headed toward Szczesny’s far post. Cionek, near the penalty spot, lifted his right leg and deflected the ball past Szczesny’s other side for the fourth own-goal of the tournament.
SARANSK, Russia – Japan did what no other Asian team had ever done at a World Cup – beat a South American squad on the biggest stage in soccer.
The 2-1 victory over Colombia on Tuesday was another surprising result in an unpredictable tournament.
A costly mistake by Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez in the opening minutes led to a red card and a penalty, helping Japan take an early lead. Coming in the third minute, it was the second fastest red card in World Cup history and the first of this year’s tournament.
Yuya Osako won a bouncing ball to begin a sequence that led to the red card and the penalty. Sanchez blocked Shinji Kagawa’s shot with his extended right arm and was ejected. Kagawa then converted from the spot.
Colombia, which played with 10 men for the rest of the match, scored late in the first half on Juan Quintero’s rolling but accurate free kick, which sneaked inside the right post. Osako’s gritty determination led to a 73rd-minute header from Keisuke Honda’s corner kick that gave Japan three points in Group H.
“He played well in Germany this season,” Honda said of the Werder Bremen forward. “He also couldn’t score last World Cup and I knew he really wanted to score this game. I’m happy he scored.”
Japan became the latest team to pull off an upset at the World Cup, joining Mexico, Switzerland and Iceland in earning unexpected results. The win was a surprise also because Japan changed coaches shortly before the tournament, and because Asian teams had failed to beat South American opposition in 17 previous World Cup meetings.
“Normally you prepare a match to play 11 players against 11 and to lose one player in the first three minutes – to lose such a crucial player – that’s not an easy thing,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “In the second half, Japan adapted its style and managed to score by playing better and taking advantage of their opportunities.”
Sanchez did not speak to reporters after the match.
Japan will next face Senegal on Sunday in Yekaterinburg, while Colombia takes on Poland in Kazan on the same day.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Two wins, eight goals and almost certainly a place in the knockout stage for first time since the Soviet era.
Russia is enjoying quite the party at its own World Cup – and not even the highly anticipated return of Mohamed Salah could slow it down on Tuesday.
Confounding grim pre-tournament predictions, the host nation earned a second consecutive emphatic victory to start the group stage by beating Egypt 3-1. Having already routed Saudi Arabia 5-0, Russia is likely to be celebrating a spot in the round of 16 by Wednesday evening and few could have seen that happening so soon.
“It’s a group of solidarity and cohesion,” said Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov. “You mention difficulties, problems. We don’t like these words. We don’t have this in our vocabulary. We had some issues and we dealt with it.”
Like a string of pre-tournament injuries that ravaged the defense. Like a run of seven winless games heading into the tournament. The Russians started the World Cup as the second lowest-ranked team at No. 67, but they aren’t playing like it.
Three goals in a 15-minute span early in the second half did the damage against Egypt, with Ahmed Fathi poking the ball into his own net – the fifth own-goal of the tournament – to put Russia ahead in the 47th minute. Denis Cheryshev, with his third goal of the World Cup, and striker Artyom Dzyuba then scored in quick succession before Salah won and converted a consolation penalty in his first game back after 3½ weeks out with a shoulder injury.
Aside from his goal, Salah was quiet in his first ever match at a World Cup, much to the dismay of the Egypt fans in the stadium who roared every time their star player’s face flashed up on the big screen and when his name was announced before kickoff. Not to mention the 90 million Egyptians back home.
“I was told by the medical staff that he was fit, feeling good,” Egypt coach Hector Cuper said. “He couldn’t prepare with us in the training camp, he had to train alone. Maybe that meant his total physical ability was reduced.”
Egypt’s first World Cup in 28 years could be over in barely five days, while Russia’s place in the round of 16 will be assured if Uruguay wins or draws against the Saudis on Wednesday.
Those two scenarios would also eliminate Egypt.
