World Cup wrap Day 15: Yellow card heartache for Senegal, Japan advances despite loss to Poland

POOR DISCIPLINE COSTS SENEGAL

Yellow cards have cost Senegal a spot in the knockout stages of the World Cup with the African nation becoming the first country in the tournament's history to be eliminated due to their fair play ranking.

Following the 1-0 loss to Colombia, Senegal were left with exactly the same win-loss record as Japan meaning the sides were eventually judged by the amount of yellow cards each received.

The Japanese advanced to the Round of 16 because they only accrued four yellows as opposed to Senegal's six.

Senegal copped two yellow cards in their opening clash over Poland, three in the draw with Japan and one on before Colombia broke through.

Yerry Mina thumped home the second-half header to secure a dramatic victory that catapulted the South Americans into the last 16.

Colombia celebrates after Yerry Mina scored the winner.

Senegal only needed a point in their final Group H game to reach the next round, but they will head home disappointed by not only the result but the fashion in which it played out.

Colombia, group winners with six points, will face a last-16 match against England after the Brits lost to Belgium 1-0.

Referee Milorad Mazic of Serbia shows Mbaye Niang of Senegal the yellow card. (AAP)

The team's coach wasn't bitter after the loss, instead claiming his side simply wasn't good enough under the protocols of the tournament.

"Senegal doesn't qualify because we don't deserve it. This is one of the rules," their coach Aliou Cisse said.

"We have to respect it. We would prefer to be eliminated another way ... we were fully committed and maybe because we were fully committed we got more yellow cards."

It was a crushing blow to the Senegalese who had been the better side for most of the game and had a penalty award overturned in the first half after a VAR review.

Columbia fans go nuts after Mina's winner.(AAP)

Yet Mina ensured Colombia were not made to pay when he headed home, sparking delirium among the Colombian fans who formed a sea of yellow inside the stadium.

"There was a lot of tension in the air," Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said.

"In that regard we played very well and waited for the opportunity ... when we saw the opportunity, we took it."

BELGIUM TOP GROUP G

A superb second-half strike from Adnan Januzaj gave Belgium a 1-0 win over England on Thursday to give them top spot in Group G at the World Cup.

England finished in second place, with both sides already assured of going through to the last 16 even before a ball was kicked in the match.

The result means Belgium, who won all three of their group games to finish on nine points, will face Japan in the last 16 while England, who came second with six, take on Colombia.

That gives Gareth Southgate's England side a tougher test in the second round but should they get past that they will find themselves on a much more promising path to the final.

Belgium's side of the draw includes Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and France, while England's opponents are, on paper, easier and they face less travelling should they progress.

"We want to win football matches, so we're not happy to come away from here having been beaten. But what that means for the next round, we don't really know," said Southgate.

"The knockout game is the biggest game for a decade, so we had to make sure our key players were preserved," he added, having rested captain Harry Kane.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez suggested he was not worried about the impact of the result on his team's possible future opponents.

Belgium's Adnan Januzaj celebrates. (AAP)

"The victory is a consequence of a very good performance. You cannot plan the ideal scenario, you've seen big nations already eliminated," said the Spaniard.

"We need to look at ourselves, we are a stronger group than we were before the game. We're facing Japan, we've got to be ready for it," he said.

When Belgium and England play in the last 16 their lineups will bear little resemblance to those fielded on Thursday.

As expected both managers rested many players, a decision Southgate described as a 'no brainer' in the circumstances.

Belgium now face Japan in Rostov-on-Don on Monday while England play Colombia in Moscow on Tuesday in the knockout phase.

The goal came six minutes into the second half when 23-year-old Januzaj shimmied on the edge of the box and sent a perfect shot into the far corner of the net past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

England rued a wasted opportunity by Marcus Rashford after 66 minutes, when he fired wide after finding himself one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois in the Belgian goal.

JAPAN ADVANCES DESPITE LOSS

Japan has advanced into the knockout phase of the World Cup despite losing 1-0 to Poland, progressing from Group H thanks to their lower tally of yellow cards than Senegal.

Japan, who needed only a draw to qualify, went behind in the 59th minute when Poland's Rafal Kurzawa floated a free kick to the far post and an unmarked Jan Bednarek scored from close range.

Until then, Japan had looked content to contain Poland in stifling heat in Volgograd and they left in-form midfielder Takashi Inui on the bench until they were chasing an equaliser.

Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski missed a good chance to double the lead in the 74th minute, meaning he failed to score in all three matches he played at the World Cup in Russia.

https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1012422938782502913

TUNISIA SCORE FIRST WORLD CUP WIN SINCE 1978

Tunisia's Wahbi Khazri set up the first goal and scored the second to give the country its first World Cup win in 40 years with a 2-1 victory over debutants Panama in their final Group G match on Thursday.

The result brought some vindication for Tunisia, who coach Nabil Maaloul had admitted before the game were demoralised after their defeats by England and Belgium.

"We wanted to snatch this victory, and I wanted to score, and I did. This is a great day for Tunisia," said man of the match Ben Yousseff.

"We know it is the first time for the Panamanian side but it doesn't mean it was easy to defeat them."

WORLD CUP ROUND OF 16

(All times AEST):

Sunday, July 1

0000: France v Argentina (Kazan)

0400: Uruguay v Portugal (Sochi)

Monday, July 2

0000: Russia v Spain (Moscow)

0400: Croatia v Denmark (Nizhny Novgorod)

Tuesday, July 3

0000: Brazil v Mexico (Samara)

0400: Belgium v Japan (Rostov-on-Don)

Wednesday, July 4

0000: Sweden v Switzerland (St Petersburg)

0400: England v Colombia (Moscow)