It wasn't a match: it was a walk in the park in the heat of Nizhny Novgorod. Gareth Southgate's 6-1 victory over a weak Panama qualified the Three Lions for the round of 16 (and with them Belgium, while Central Americans and Tunisia were eliminated automatically), cemented Harry Kane's hat-trick, which moved him to five in the top scorer rankings, and secured the heaviest result ever in a World Cup finals. It was a key match for both sides. And the outcome couldn't have been clearer. Colombia swept Poland 3-0 and will play Senegal as favorites to qualify for the round of 16, while a disappointing Lewandowski's national team returned home after two games without a point. Poland failed as a team, as their play was never convincing and their defense appeared vulnerable. And on an individual level too: Robert Lewandowski only made a couple of appearances and otherwise never managed to make an impact, little helped by a team that rarely allowed him playable balls. Zielinski performed poorly once again, perhaps too quickly elevated to a top player in Italy, while Sampdoria's promising youngster Kownacki, who started the season, showed he still needs Marco Giampaolo's coaching. Szczesny, Buffon's successor at Juve, also had a lackluster World Cup campaign, having been beaten three times by Colombia.
At the end of 90 minutes of fun and balance, Japan and Senegal cancelled each other out, drawing 2-2, which effectively allowed the two surprises of Group H to remain tied at the top of the standings and to keep their chances of reaching the World Cup knockout stages intact. The Africans have a little more regret, having been ahead twice but unable to manage their advantage. But, in the event of a defeat, Japan would also have had reason to complain, having ended up 1-2 down after having squandered a sensational goal-scoring opportunity and having hit the crossbar.
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