The Group H: The Great Unknown
The Group H presents itself as the great unknown of the group stage since all the teams have the possibility of advancing to the next round. Colombia, ranked 13th in the FIFA rankings, will open the group stage against Japan, who is ranked 55th. These teams have faced each other three times: the 2003 Confederations Cup, the 2007 Kirin Cup, and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Colombian team has the advantage with two wins and one draw.
The "Land of the Rising Sun" team arrives in Russia as the leader of their confederation's Group Two after defeating Australia in their last match. The team, led by coach Vahid Halilhodzic since 2015, will aim to reach the round of 16 for the third time.
On the other hand, the Colombian team will participate in their sixth World Cup and they will seek to repeat their achievement from four years ago under the guidance of Argentinean coach José Pékerman. The South American team qualified after a draw against Peru in the final match, securing the fourth place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers.