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With two assists in this game, James has been involved
in 10 of Colombia's past 14 World Cup goals
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Radamel Falcao scored his first World Cup goal as
Colombia got their tournament in Russia up and running with an impressive
victory that ended a lacklustre Poland side's hopes of reaching the last 16.
Yerry Mina nodded in James Rodriguez's cross shortly
before half-time to put the South Americans ahead.
Falcao
then broke through in the second half before driving a low strike into the far
corner and Juan Cuadrado capped off a fine team performance with an
accomplished finish after racing on to James' sublime ball behind the Poland
defence.
It was a
much improved performance by Colombia following the disappointing 2-1 defeat by
Japan in their Group H opener and will give their fans hope they can at least
match their run to the quarter-finals in 2014.
In
contrast, this was another disappointing display by Poland, who lost to Senegal
in their group opener.
Robert
Lewandowski, making his World Cup debut in Russia, struggled with a lack of
service throughout, the Bayern Munich striker going closest in the final few
minutes when a long-range effort was tipped over by David Ospina.
Poland
cannot now catch either Japan or Senegal, who have four points from two games.
Colombia have three points and play Senegal on Thursday knowing victory could
secure top spot.
It was
four years ago to the day that Colombia thrashed Japan 4-1 to finish top of
their group at the 2014 World Cup - a result that made many observers stand up
and take notice of the South Americans as contenders.
They
went on to reach the last eight in Brazil, with James scoring six goals to
claim the Golden Boot, and in this victory both the team and the player were
back to their best after some underwhelming performances over the course of the
past four years.
Injury
denied the Bayern Munich star a place in the first XI as Colombia lost their
opening group game in Russia 2-1 to Japan but he returned to the starting
line-up against Poland and provided the creativity his side so badly lacked in
their previous outing.
He had
the vision and technique to unlock a stubborn Poland defence just as a first
half light on chances looked set to end goalless, clipping a pinpoint cross to
Mina, who headed in from close range.
But his
pass for Colombia's third was even better, taking out three defenders to find
Cuadrado with a whipped pass from the left wing, allowing the former Chelsea
forward to charge unchallenged into the Poland box before finishing neatly.
With six
goals and four assists in his previous seven appearances for Colombia, James
has been involved in more goals than any other player across the past two World
Cups. If Colombia are to go far at a finals again then the 26-year-old
maintaining this kind of form will be key.
Russia
2018 is Poland's first World Cup finals appearance in 12 years, but rather than
grasping the opportunity and making their mark, they went out with a whimper.
Lewandowski
scored an incredible 16 goals during qualifying - one more than Portugal's
Cristiano Ronaldo - but he was unable to carry that form into the tournament.
A change
in formation may have contributed to that. Having frequently played 4-4-2 in
qualifying Poland lined up 3-4-3 against Colombia and it was clearly a
formation in which Lewandowski did not feel comfortable. He often found himself
isolated and having to drop back into midfield to help build attacks.
At 29,
this may have been the Bayern Munich striker's last chance to make his mark at
a World Cup.
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