The first round of matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup will conclude on Tuesday as the teams in Group H finally enter the fray.
In what was perhaps the tournament's most open group before it started, Colombia will take on Japan while Poland meet Senegal.
Hosts Russia will also be in action as they kick off the second round of group-stage matches when they play Egypt.
Here are the standings from the matches so far:
Group A (Team, games played, goal difference, points)
1. Russia, 1, +5, 3
2. Uruguay, 1, +1, 3
3. Egypt, 1, -1, 0
4. Saudi Arabia, 1, -5, 0
1. Iran, 1, +1, 3
2. Portugal, 1, 0, 1
3. Spain, 1, 0, 1
4. Morocco, 1, -1, 0
1. France, 1, +1, 3
2. Denmark, 1, +1, 3
3. Australia, 1, -1, 0
4. Peru, 1, -1, 0
1. Croatia, 1, +2, 3
2. Iceland, 1, 0, 1
3. Argentina, 1, 0, 1
4. Nigeria, 1, -2, 0
1. Serbia, 1, +1, 3
2. Brazil, 1, 0, 1
3. Switzerland, 1, 0, 1
4. Costa Rica, 1, -1, 0
1. Mexico, 1, +1, 3
2. Sweden, 1, +1, 3
3. South Korea, 1, -1, 0
4. Germany, 1, -1, 0
1. Belgium, 1, 3, 3
2. England, 1, 1, 3
3. Tunisia, 1, -1, 0
4. Panama, 1, -3, 0
For the complete standings, visit FIFA.com.
OddsShark provided the latest odds for the matches, and here's a score prediction for each:
- Colombia (18-25), Draw (5-2), Japan (39-10). Pick: 2-1
- Poland (63-50), Draw (21-10), Senegal (9-4). Pick: 2-1
- Russia (22-25), Draw (193-100), Egypt (3-1). Pick: 1-1
Colombia vs. Japan
After impressing at the 2014 World Cup with their run to the quarter-finals, Colombia will be hoping to top a tricky group as they look to surpass their last appearance.
Making his first outing at a World Cup will be La Tricolor all-time top scorer Radamel Falcao, who missed out last time due to injury.
He has 29 goals for Colombia and scored 24 in all competitions for AS Monaco last season. With world-class service provided by James Rodriguez, he could be a force to be reckoned with in Russia.
Japan might have a tough time containing him, as they have shipped two goals in each of their last four matches.
Manager Akira Nishino has only been in charge for their last three, having taken over in April, and as football commentator Ben Mabley noted, they are a work in progress:
Ben Mabley（ベン・メイブリー） @BenMableyJapan lose 2-0 away to Switzerland in second of three friendlies since Akira Nishino appointed manager. 3-4-2-1 scrapped for 4-2-3-1, looked better all round, but attacking coordination still hasn't reached the level of actually creating chances and defensive errors when hurried.
They improved in their final friendly to beat Paraguay 4-2, but their defending remains an issue.
With quality in their ranks from the likes of Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda, they can pose Colombia some problems, but their shortcomings could prove costly.
Russia vs. Egypt
Mohamed Salah remained an unused substitute in Egypt's opening game against Uruguay, as head coach Hector Cuper elected not to risk him as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Football journalist Rik Sharma praised the decision not to start him but thought he should have been brought on in the match, which Egypt lost 1-0 courtesy of late Jose Gimenez header:
Rik Sharma @riksharma_Wise decision from Egypt to put Salah on bench. No point having him get pasted by Uruguayan defenders and then unable to help them in two clearly winnable matches that follow.
Rik Sharma @riksharma_No Salah then. If he was even 75% fit you'd think he would have come on. Even just to secure the draw, by giving Uruguay fear at the back
Fans will be hoping to see him unleashed against Russia, and according to team manager Ihab Leheta, he should be able to feature.
"Salah participated in training with his team-mates for the entire session, and he is ready to play against Russia according to technical staff.
"Salah did not ask to play against Uruguay. The Russia game is difficult because of our defeat against Uruguay. Winning is our only choice."
If Salah does play, his pace can give 38-year-old Russian centre-back Sergey Ignashevich a torrid time.
The hosts were better than expected—against an admittedly poor Saudi Arabia side—in the opening game, though, and the Pharaohs will be especially wary of Denis Cheryshev and Aleksandr Golovin.
Squawka Football shared the former's numbers, while football writer Tom Williams was praising the latter even before his superb injury-time free-kick against Saudi Arabia:
Squawka Football @SquawkaDenis Cheryshev: The most super of super subs ☄
Tom Williams @tomwfootballTwo assists and a hand in the second goal for Golovin. Baller.
The pair won't have it as easy as they did in the opening game, and Egypt have shown themselves to be resilient at the back, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against stronger opposition.
For Egypt, much will depend on Salah, though even if he's not at his best, they should have less trouble causing Russia problems than they did Uruguay.
