Senegal needed just a draw from their Group H clash with Colombia to advance to the knockout stage.
Instead, they lost by a single goal – which not only took the last African contenders out of the World Cup but also advanced Japan, despite their loss to Poland by the same score line.
The African champs were brilliant up to a point – the point of converting their outstanding general play into goals.
They may feel they were badly done by in the 16th minute when Sadio Mane, who plies his trade with Liverpool, was brought down in the box by Carlos Sanchez but VAR was on the ref’s side.
Senegal’s pace, strength and cool determination forced errors from the Colombians, but they could not unpick their defensive lock.
Colombia did not seem to have too much to worry the Senegalese, other than the dazzling Juan Cuadrado of Juventus, who never seems to have a poor game.
Chances came and went at both ends but there was ultimately only one that mattered as Yerry Mina leaped high to meet a corner to head downwards and bounce it past a despairing Khadim Ndiaye (1-0).
Senegal did all in their power to restore parity and time after time it was David Ospina in the Colombian goal who stood between them and success.
It wasn’t to be and Senegal – through a combination of their own poor finishing, defensive lapses and a ridiculously arbitrary FIFA rule of deciding progress – go home with heads held high.
It wasn’t the yellow jerseys of Colombia that ultimately mattered; it was the yellow cards.
