Colombia are finally getting their World Cup started with their Group H match against Japan kicking off at 1pm today. The South American side are one of the dark horses to go deep into the tournament but many people tuning in late to their first game may be wondering why is James Rodriguez not playing?
Why is James Rodriguez not playing?
Colombia's talisman has been ruled out of the match with a calf injury which has been bugging him for a weeks. Having spent the season on loan at Bayern Munich, Rodriguez was reported to be suffering from muscle fatigue and hasn't been able to recover in time for the match with Japan, despite the fact he trained on Monday. River Plate's Juan Fernando Quintetro starts in his stead, with more pressure now on the likes of Falcao and Juan Cuadrado to put in some big performances.
Meanwhile Japan are also without Shinji Okazaki of Leicester City. The busy striker is also suffering from a calf injury which they feared may rule him out of the tournament but he has recovered enough to take a place on the bench. Their star player is undoubtedly former Manchester United midfielder, Shinji Kagawa.
TEAM NEWS | #COLJPN
Here are the Starting XIs...#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/86LFG2Ssjv
— FIFA World Cup ? (@FIFAWorldCup) June 19, 2018
Colombia Starting XI
Ospina, Arias, Davinson Sanchez, Murillo, Mojica, Cuadrado, Carlos Sanchez, Lerma, Izquierdo, Quintero, Falcao.
Japan Starting XI
Kawashima, Hiroki Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo, Haraguchi, Hasebe, Shibasaki, Inui, Kagawa, Osako.
