2014 FIFA World Cup Group C

Group C of the 2014 FIFA World Cup consisted of Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan. Play began on 14 June and ended on 24 June 2014. The top two teams, Colombia and Greece, advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

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Draw position Team Confederation Method of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA Rankings
October 2013[nb 1] June 2014
C1 (seed)   Colombia CONMEBOL CONMEBOL 2nd runners-up 11 October 2013 5th 1998 Round of 16 (1990) 4 8
C2   Greece UEFA UEFA Play-off winners 19 November 2013 3rd 2010 Group stage (1994, 2010) 15 12
C3   Ivory Coast CAF CAF third round winners 16 November 2013 3rd 2010 Group stage (2006, 2010) 17 23
C4   Japan AFC AFC fourth round Group B 1st winners 4 June 2013 5th 2010 Round of 16 (2002, 2010) 44 46
Notes
  1. ^ The rankings of October 2013 were used for seeding for the final draw.

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Colombia 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 9 Advance to knockout stage
2   Greece 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
3   Ivory Coast 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4   Japan 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

Matches

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Colombia vs Greece

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The two teams had met in one previous match, in a friendly in 1994, where Colombia won 2–0.[1] Colombia midfielder Fredy Guarín was suspended for the match, after being sent off in the team's final qualifier against Paraguay.[2]

Colombia took the lead within five minutes, Juan Cuadrado's cutback was converted by Pablo Armero via a deflection off Greek defender Kostas Manolas. Colombia extended the lead in the second half, when Abel Aguilar flicked on a corner kick from James Rodríguez and Teófilo Gutiérrez scored from close range.[3] Greece's best chance fell to Theofanis Gekas, who headed against the bar. In stoppage time, Cuadrado set up James to complete the scoring with a low shot.[4]

The 3–0 scoreline was Colombia's biggest win to date in the World Cup.[5]

Colombia  3–0  Greece
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greece
GK 1 David Ospina
RB 18 Juan Camilo Zúñiga
CB 2 Cristián Zapata
CB 3 Mario Yepes (c)
LB 7 Pablo Armero   74'
CM 6 Carlos Sánchez   26'
CM 8 Abel Aguilar   69'
RW 11 Juan Cuadrado
AM 10 James Rodríguez
LW 14 Víctor Ibarbo
CF 9 Teófilo Gutiérrez   76'
Substitutions:
MF 15 Alexander Mejía   69'
DF 4 Santiago Arias   74'
FW 21 Jackson Martínez   76'
Manager:
  José Pékerman
 
GK 1 Orestis Karnezis
RB 15 Vasilis Torosidis
CB 4 Kostas Manolas
CB 19 Sokratis Papastathopoulos   52'
LB 20 José Holebas
RM 14 Dimitris Salpingidis   55'   57'
CM 2 Giannis Maniatis
CM 21 Kostas Katsouranis (c)
LM 8 Panagiotis Kone   78'
CF 7 Georgios Samaras
CF 17 Theofanis Gekas   64'
Substitutions:
MF 18 Giannis Fetfatzidis   57'
FW 9 Konstantinos Mitroglou   64'
MF 10 Giorgos Karagounis   78'
Manager:
  Fernando Santos

Man of the Match:
James Rodríguez (Colombia)

Assistant referees:
Mark Hurd (United States)
Joe Fletcher (Canada)
Fourth official:
Alireza Faghani (Iran)
Fifth official:
Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)

Ivory Coast vs Japan

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The two teams had met in three previous matches, all in friendlies, most recently in 2010.[7]

Japan took the lead in the first half, when Keisuke Honda collected a pass from Yuto Nagatomo after a quick throw-in to strike home with his left foot high into the net.[8]

However, Ivory Coast came back with two goals in two minutes in the second half, first Wilfried Bony headed in from Serge Aurier's cross from the right from six yards, followed by a Gervinho header from six yards from another cross from Aurier on the right.[9]

With his goal, Honda became the first Japanese player to score in two World Cups, and also claimed sole possession of being the top Japanese scorer in World Cup history with three total goals.[10]

Ivory Coast  2–1  Japan
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ivory Coast
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Japan
GK 1 Boubacar Barry
RB 17 Serge Aurier
CB 5 Didier Zokora   58'
CB 22 Sol Bamba   54'
LB 3 Arthur Boka   75'
CM 9 Cheick Tioté
CM 20 Serey Die   62'
AM 19 Yaya Touré (c)
RF 8 Salomon Kalou
CF 12 Wilfried Bony   78'
LF 10 Gervinho
Substitutions:
FW 11 Didier Drogba   62'
DF 18 Constant Djakpa   75'
FW 13 Didier Ya Konan   78'
Manager:
  Sabri Lamouchi
 
GK 1 Eiji Kawashima
RB 2 Atsuto Uchida
CB 22 Maya Yoshida   23'
CB 6 Masato Morishige   64'
LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo
DM 16 Hotaru Yamaguchi
DM 17 Makoto Hasebe (c)   54'
RW 9 Shinji Okazaki
AM 4 Keisuke Honda
LW 10 Shinji Kagawa   86'
CF 18 Yuya Osako   67'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Yasuhito Endō   54'
FW 13 Yoshito Ōkubo   67'
MF 11 Yoichiro Kakitani   86'
Manager:
  Alberto Zaccheroni

Man of the Match:
Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast)

Assistant referees:
Carlos Astroza (Chile)
Sergio Román (Chile)
Fourth official:
Néant Alioum (Cameroon)
Fifth official:
Djibril Camara (Senegal)

Colombia vs Ivory Coast

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The two teams had never met before.[11]

After a goalless first half, Colombia scored first when James Rodríguez headed in Juan Cuadrado's corner.[12] The lead was extended six minutes later when Ivory Coast was caught in possession, and Teófilo Gutiérrez released substitute Juan Quintero to score. Ivory Coast reduced the deficit through Gervinho, who received a pass from Arthur Boka in the left wing, dribbled past three Colombian players and shot home.[13]

The second goal of the tournament by James allowed him to join Bernardo Redín and Adolfo Valencia as the only Colombian players to score more than one goal in the World Cup.[14]

Colombia  2–1  Ivory Coast
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ivory Coast
GK 1 David Ospina
RB 18 Juan Camilo Zúñiga
CB 2 Cristián Zapata
CB 3 Mario Yepes (c)
LB 7 Pablo Armero   72'
CM 8 Abel Aguilar   79'
CM 6 Carlos Sánchez
RW 11 Juan Cuadrado
AM 10 James Rodríguez
LW 14 Víctor Ibarbo   53'
CF 9 Teófilo Gutiérrez
Substitutions:
MF 20 Juan Quintero   53'
DF 4 Santiago Arias   72'
MF 15 Alexander Mejía   79'
Manager:
  José Pékerman
 
GK 1 Boubacar Barry
RB 17 Serge Aurier
CB 5 Didier Zokora   55'
CB 22 Sol Bamba
LB 3 Arthur Boka
CM 20 Serey Die   73'
CM 9 Cheick Tioté   90'
RW 10 Gervinho
AM 19 Yaya Touré (c)
LW 15 Max Gradel   67'
CF 12 Wilfried Bony   60'
Substitutions:
FW 11 Didier Drogba   60'
FW 8 Salomon Kalou   67'
MF 6 Mathis Bolly   73'
Manager:
  Sabri Lamouchi

Man of the Match:
James Rodríguez (Colombia)

Assistant referees:
Michael Mullarkey (England)
Darren Cann (England)
Fourth official:
Víctor Hugo Carrillo (Peru)
Fifth official:
Rodney Aquino (Paraguay)

Japan vs Greece

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Arena das Dunas before the Japan x Greece match.

The two teams had met in one previous match, in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage, won by Japan 1–0.[11]

Greece was reduced to ten men in the first half when Kostas Katsouranis was booked twice in eleven minutes. In the second half, Greece had a Theofanis Gekas header saved, while Japan, which needed at least a point to stay alive in the competition, had chances to score through Yoshito Ōkubo and Atsuto Uchida, but the game finished goalless.[15] The result ensured Colombia's qualification to the knockout stage, their first since 1990.[16]

This was the first clean sheet kept by Greece in World Cup history.[17]

Japan  0–0  Greece
Report
Attendance: 39,485
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Japan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greece
GK 1 Eiji Kawashima
RB 2 Atsuto Uchida
CB 22 Maya Yoshida
CB 15 Yasuyuki Konno
LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo
CM 16 Hotaru Yamaguchi
CM 17 Makoto Hasebe (c)   12'   46'
RW 9 Shinji Okazaki
AM 4 Keisuke Honda
LW 13 Yoshito Ōkubo
CF 18 Yuya Osako   57'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Yasuhito Endō   46'
MF 10 Shinji Kagawa   57'
Manager:
  Alberto Zaccheroni
 
GK 1 Orestis Karnezis
RB 15 Vasilis Torosidis   89'
CB 4 Kostas Manolas
CB 19 Sokratis Papastathopoulos
LB 20 José Holebas
DM 21 Kostas Katsouranis (c)   27'   38'
CM 2 Giannis Maniatis
CM 8 Panagiotis Kone   81'
RW 18 Giannis Fetfatzidis   41'
LW 7 Georgios Samaras   55'
CF 9 Kostas Mitroglou   35'
Substitutions:
FW 17 Theofanis Gekas   35'
MF 10 Giorgos Karagounis   41'
FW 14 Dimitris Salpingidis   81'
Manager:
  Fernando Santos

Man of the Match:
Keisuke Honda (Japan)

Assistant referees:
William Torres (El Salvador)
Juan Zumba (El Salvador)
Fourth official:
Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
Fifth official:
Aden Marwa (Kenya)

Japan vs Colombia

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The two teams had met in two previous matches, most recently in a friendly in 2007, and also in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage, won by Colombia 1–0.[18]

Colombia took the lead mid-way through the first half, with Juan Cuadrado taking a penalty kick, shooting low down the middle after Japan centre back Yasuyuki Konno fouled Colombia striker Adrián Ramos in the box.[19] Japan then equalised through Shinji Okazaki's headed goal from a cross from Keisuke Honda on the right in first half stoppage time. Colombia's James Rodríguez was introduced after the half time break, and was credited for providing two assists for two goals scored by Jackson Martínez, on 55 minutes when he shot low to the net with his left foot, and 82 minutes when he curled the ball in from the right of the penalty area with his left foot, before finishing off the scoring with a strike of his own, assisted by Ramos, where he beat the last man before clipping the ball over the goalkeeper.[20] Colombia, which had already qualified for the knockout stage and would do so as group winners if either they didn't lose this match or Ivory Coast did not beat Greece in the other match, finished as group winners with a perfect record of three wins out of three, while Japan, which had to win the match to have any chance to qualify, were eliminated.

Faryd Mondragón became the oldest player to make an appearance in the history of the World Cup, at the age of 43 years, 3 days, when he came on for the last five minutes of the match, breaking the record of Roger Milla, who played at the 1994 World Cup at the age of 42.[21] He also set the record for the longest time between World Cup appearances as 15 years and 363 days had passed since his last versus England at the 1998 World Cup, breaking Alfred Bickel's record of 12 years and 13 days between appearances (1938–1950).[22]

Japan  1–4  Colombia
Report
Attendance: 40,340
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Japan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
GK 1 Eiji Kawashima
RB 2 Atsuto Uchida
CB 22 Maya Yoshida
CB 15 Yasuyuki Konno   16'
LB 5 Yuto Nagatomo
CM 14 Toshihiro Aoyama   62'
CM 17 Makoto Hasebe (c)
RW 9 Shinji Okazaki   69'
AM 4 Keisuke Honda
LW 10 Shinji Kagawa   85'
CF 13 Yoshito Ōkubo
Substitutions:
MF 16 Hotaru Yamaguchi   62'
FW 11 Yoichiro Kakitani   69'
MF 8 Hiroshi Kiyotake   85'
Manager:
  Alberto Zaccheroni
 
GK 1 David Ospina (c)   85'
RB 4 Santiago Arias
CB 23 Carlos Valdés
CB 16 Éder Balanta
LB 7 Pablo Armero
RM 11 Juan Cuadrado   46'
CM 15 Alexander Mejía
CM 13 Fredy Guarín   63'
LM 20 Juan Quintero   46'
SS 19 Adrián Ramos
CF 21 Jackson Martínez
Substitutions:
MF 5 Carlos Carbonero   46'
MF 10 James Rodríguez   46'
GK 22 Faryd Mondragón   85'
Manager:
  José Pékerman

Man of the Match:
Jackson Martínez (Colombia)

Assistant referees:
Bertino Cunha (Portugal)
Tiago Trigo (Portugal)
Fourth official:
Roberto Moreno (Panama)
Fifth official:
Eric Boria (United States)

Greece vs Ivory Coast

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The two teams had never met before.[18] Greece midfielder Kostas Katsouranis (red card in previous match) and Ivory Coast defender Didier Zokora (accumulation of yellow cards) were suspended for the match.[23][24]

Greece, which had to win to have any chance to qualify for the knockout stage, went in front in the 42nd minute after Cheick Tioté's defensive mistake allowed substitute Andreas Samaris to steal the ball, play a one-two with Georgios Samaras, and run in on goal before shooting past the goalkeeper with his right foot. In the second half, substitute Wilfried Bony equalised with a low right foot finish after Gervinho's pass from the left. As Japan were losing to Colombia in the other match played at the same time, Ivory Coast only required a point to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time.[25] The game looked to be heading for a draw, until Greece won a penalty in injury time when Giovanni Sio tripped Samaras as he was about to strike the ball, and Samaras scored the penalty hitting the ball to the goalkeeper's left. The win meant Greece finished as the group runners-up, and put them into the knockout stage for the first time in its World Cup history (after unsuccessful campaigns in 1994 and 2010), while Ivory Coast were eliminated in the group stage for the third tournament in a row.[26]

Greece  2–1  Ivory Coast
Report
Attendance: 59,095
Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greece
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ivory Coast
GK 1 Orestis Karnezis   24'
RB 15 Vasilis Torosidis
CB 4 Kostas Manolas
CB 19 Sokratis Papastathopoulos
LB 20 José Holebas
DM 10 Giorgos Karagounis (c)   78'
CM 2 Giannis Maniatis
CM 16 Lazaros Christodoulopoulos
RW 8 Panagiotis Kone   12'
LW 7 Georgios Samaras
CF 14 Dimitris Salpingidis
Substitutions:
MF 22 Andreas Samaris   12'
GK 12 Panagiotis Glykos   24'
FW 17 Theofanis Gekas   78'
Manager:
  Fernando Santos
 
GK 1 Boubacar Barry
RB 17 Serge Aurier
CB 4 Kolo Touré
CB 22 Sol Bamba
LB 3 Arthur Boka
CM 9 Cheick Tioté   61'
CM 20 Serey Die   70'
RW 8 Salomon Kalou   62'
AM 19 Yaya Touré
LW 10 Gervinho   83'
CF 11 Didier Drogba (c)   37'   78'
Substitutions:
FW 12 Wilfried Bony   61'
MF 14 Ismaël Diomandé   78'
FW 21 Giovanni Sio   83'
Manager:
  Sabri Lamouchi

Man of the Match:
Georgios Samaras (Greece)

Assistant referees:
Christian Lescano (Ecuador)
Byron Romero (Ecuador)
Fourth official:
Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Fifth official:
Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Match suspensions to be served at the final competition of the FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Greece play blame game following World Cup defeat by Colombia". The Guardian. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. ^ "Colombia 3 Greece 0". BBC Sport. 14 June 2014.
  5. ^ "World Cup - Colombia ease to win over Greece". Yahoo! Sport. 14 June 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Referee designations for matches 5-8" (PDF). fifa.com. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2014.
  7. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Ivory Coast stage World Cup fight back to see off Japan". The Guardian. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Ivory Coast 2 Japan 1". BBC Sport. 14 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Japan beaten by Drogba-inspired Ivory Coast in World Cup opener". The Mainichi. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  11. ^ a b "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Colombia win again as Juan Quintero's winner sinks skilful Ivory Coast". The Guardian. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Colombia 2 Ivory Coast 1". BBC Sport. 19 June 2014.
  14. ^ "James Rodríguez iguala a Bernardo Redín y Adolfo Valencia con dos goles" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 20 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Japan 0 Greece 0". BBC Sport. 19 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Greece keep Japan at bay after Kostas Katsouranis gets early red card". The Guardian. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  17. ^ "World Cup - Ten-man Greece hang on for draw against Japan". Yahoo! Sport. 20 June 2014.
  18. ^ a b "2014 FIFA World Cup – Statistical Kit" (PDF). FIFA.com. p. 42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Colombia post their third group win to put Japan through the exit door". The Guardian. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Japan 1 Colombia 4". BBC Sport. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Jackson Martínez scores twice as Carlos Valderrama's side top group to set up Uruguay tie". Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Late goals decisive on big day for keepers". FIFA.com. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Goalless Draw Keeps Japan And Greece Alive". The New Indian Express. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  24. ^ "Colombia edge Ivorians". Kickoff.com. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  25. ^ "Greece advance with last-gasp penalty to deny Ivory Coast progress". The Guardian. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Greece 2 Ivory Coast 1". BBC Sport. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
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