18:17 IST: HALF TIME! Colombia 1-1 Japan18:15 IST: 45 minutes are up.
1 minute of added time.18:09 IST: GOAL! Colombia have equalized in the 39th minute.Juan Quintero with a brilliant free-kick, puts the ball in.
Absolutely brilliant from 10-man Colombian team.
COL 1-1 JAP18:08 IST: Falcao earns his team a free kick from just outside the box.18:05 IST: 33rd minute! Skipper Falcao goes aerial again but MISSES!18:04 IST: Another corner for Japan.
CLEARED!18:02 IST: Substitution for Colombia.
Cuadrado walks back to the dugout.
Wilmar Barrios replaces him.
Japan still lead Colombia 1-0.18:00 IST: 30 minutes are up.
It has been Japan's game till now.
Goal in the first six minutes and Colombia are down to 10 men.17:56 IST: Corner for Colombia but cleared by the Japanese defense.17:54 IST: Corner for Japan in the 23rd minute but no worries for the goalkeeper.
Ball has been cleared by the Colombian defense.17:45 IST: 15 minutes into the game.
Chances galore in Saransk! Kagawa has a golden opportunity to double Japan's lead but gets his shot from inside the box all wrong.
End to end stuff!17:40 IST: Down to 10 men, Colombia are counter attacking.
Brilliant touch from skipper Falcao but the ball goes straight into the hands of Japanese goalkeeper.17:37 IST: That was the second quickest Red card in World Cup history 17:36 IST: GOAL! Dream start for Japan.
Number 10 Kagawa puts it easily into the net.
JAP 1-0 COL in the 6th minute of the game.17:34 IST: RED CARD within 4 minutes of the game.
Carlos Sanches handles the ball inside the box.
Its a penalty for Japan.
First red card of World Cup 2018.17:30 IST: KICK OFF! Japan gets the game underway.17:27 IST: Handshakes all around.
Thrilling atmosphere at the Mordovia Arena.17:24 IST: Both teams are at the centre along with the match officials for the national anthems.
We are minutes away from kick-off.17:15 IST: Oscar Murillo and Johan Mojica are all set to make their World Cup debuts for Colombia.16:55 IST: Excited Colombian fans have arrived.
All geared up for the team's opening encounter.16:45 IST: Formation for both the teams is as follows16:40 IST: Big News! James Rodriguez is on the bench.
Juan Quintero replaces the Colombian star in starting XI.16:35 IST: Starting XI for both the teams announced!16:30 IST: Both teams have arrived at the Mordovia Arena.16:05 IST: Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Group H match between Colombo and Japan.Colombia are sweating on the fitness of star midfielder James Rodriguez.
The top-scorer at Brazil 2014 is a doubt for his team's opener after struggling with a strain in his left calf.
The Bayern Munich attacking midfielder is key to Colombia's chances of repeating their run to the quarter-finals four years ago in Brazil.
James, 26, netted six goals and created four assists to help Colombia qualify for Russia, while midfielder Wilmar Barrios is also battling to be fit.
Colombia are unbeaten this year after seeing off France 3-2 in March before goalless draws against fellow World Cup contenders Egypt and Australia.Possible Line-ups:Colombia: David Ospina; Santiago Arias, Yerry Mina, Davinson Sanchez, Johan Mojica; Abel Aguilar, Carlos Sanchez, Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez; Luis Muriel, Radamel Falcao.Japan: Eiji Kawashima; Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Tomoaki Makino, Yuto Nagatomo; Makoto Hasebe, Gaku Shibasaki, Genki Haraguchi, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui; Yuya Osako.