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<b>SteemSports Presenter:</b>@thesportsguy
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<b>SteemSports Editor:</b>@scottybuckets
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Tuesday's three World Cup matches provided a little bit of everything - from early red cards, to penalty goals, to a controversial difference-making goal, to the return of a star, to the hosts putting an emphatic exclamation point on their match in the second half.  Drama, excitement, heart-break, and controversy were all on-hand Tuesday, and the first match of the day provided early dramatics just moments into the match.
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Columbia's Carlos Sanchez was unsurprisingly shown a straight red card in just the 3' of action after blocking Kagawa's shot for Japan with his arm.  It was the fastest red card in a World Cup match since Argentina's Jose Alberto Batista was shown one just 54 seconds into a match with Scotland in 1986.  The early mistake left Columbia with just 10 men only moments into the match.
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Kagawa stepped up and was unfazed by any delay attempts by Columbia, and he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and calmly and cooly delivered his strike right down the middle to put Japan in front 1-0 in just the 6'.  It was a dream start for Japan, as the underdogs took advantage of a huge opportunity early in the match.
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Columbia continued to work for a equalizer as the half went on, and Columbia's Juan Quintero found himself with an opportunity in the 39'.  From outside the box, on the right side, he delivered a clever strike that snuck underneath the wall and headed right for the near post.  By the time the goalkeeper got a touch, it was too late as the ball caromed off the post and across the line.  Goal-line technology upheld the goal, and Columbia had found their equalizer on the clever free-kick. The goal allowed Columbia to get into the locker room equal at 1-1 despite being down a man and a goal in the opening moments of the match.
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In the 70' Kagawa gave way to Keisuke Honda for Japan, as the Japanese were still searching for a potential-winner.  A few moments later, Honda delivered a wonderful cross from a Japanese corner right into the middle of the box and Osako rose above everyone to power home a header off the inside of the far post for a no-doubter to give Japan the lead back at 2-1.  It was a terrific corner kick by Honda and a perfect header from Osako.  The goal meant that Honda has now been involved in 6 of Japan's last 8 goals scored at the World Cup (3 goals, 3 assists).  Japan were able to hang-on and run out the clock for another shocking result thus far in Russia.  
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After the shock result of the first match, Poland and Senegal had to feel like Group H was completely up for grabs heading into their match.  Poland, like Columbia, were the favorites heading into their match.  Senegal showed their ability to get up the pitch early in the match as they pressured Poland with some nice runs, but ultimately were unable to convert any of their opportunities.  However, Senegal were rewarded for their efforts in the 37' when a shot from just outside the box by an open Senegal player deflected off the right boot of Thiago Cionek, changing the direction of the ball and sending it straight ahead - the opposite way of the keeper, and into the net for an own goal.  It was an unlucky break for Cionek and Poland, and they found themselves trailing 1-0.  
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The second half saw an early opportunity for Poland as talented striker Robert Lewandowski sent a free kick humming at goal, but had it parried away by the goalkeeper for a fantastic save for Senegal.  It was the first shot on target in the match for Poland.  The Senegal goalkeeper was completely out-stretched in mid-air to make the save on a terrific strike.  
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The 60' provided the drama of the match as M'Baye Niang was awaiting the signal at center field to re-enter for Senegal after exiting due to injury.  After Poland had gathered the ball just inside the centre circle, Niang came racing on at the signal of the official, and Poland were unprepared for his re-entry.  Poland's Krychowiak clipped a high-back pass to Bednarek that he was unprepared for, which caused goalie Szczesny to come tearing out of the box to try and stop it.  Niang saw what was developing and tore onto the pitch flying toward goal, and was able to beat both defender and goalkeeper to the ball with a beautiful chip over Szczesny, that left an open-goal for Niang and he tapped it home for his first international goal for Senegal, putting them up 2-0.  The timing of the allowance of the re-entry of Niang, was hotly protested by the Polish side, and rightfully so as it appeared that the referee probably could have waited for a more neutral moment to wave the Senegal player back on.  Replays show that Poland did have possession of the ball on the Senegal side of the pitch when Niang was allowed to re-enter, though, and while the referee is partially to blame, Senegal was smart to take advantage of the opportunity.  Poland forgot about the injured player, and erred with their handling of the ball as well, so they are not without blame for surrendering the goal.  It is sure to be a hotly debated goal moving forward, and claims from both sides of the issue appear to have merit.
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Things settled, and the match continued with Poland making a renewed push to get back in the match.  The breakthrough came in the 86' as Krychowiak provided some late drama.  He was able to head home a free kick from about eight yards out on the left, putting it in at the right post with a superb touch and giving life to Poland late in the match.  It proved to be too little too late however, as Senegal prevailed and evened their World Cup record to an even 3-3, the best win-rate (50%) out of any African nation in the competition.  The talk will be about the fortune of Senegal after this one however, as they used an own-goal deflection and questionable officiating decision to help gather the 3 points.
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In the final match of the day, the hosts were magnificent in their follow-up act to their dominant opening match victory where they smashed the Saudis 5-0.  Egypt were next up, fresh off their 1-0 disappointment against Uruguay where they allowed the winner late into stoppage time.  The Egyptians received a huge boost with the return of international star Mohamed Salah who missed the Uruguay match still recovering from injury.
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After the score was notched up 0-0 at halftime, it didn't take long for the second half to produce drama.  In the 47', Zobnin fired a somewhat poor shot on goal for Russia, but it took a huge deflection off Ahmed Fathy into the bottom right-hand corner for an own goal.  The nightmare start to the second half for Egypt put them in a 1-0 hole and the frustration began to set in for the Pharaohs.  It was horrible luck for Egypt, and the own-goal made for 5 already in the 2018 World Cup - equalling the total of the entire 2014 competition.
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Russia were just getting started with their second half party, as a great build-up in the 59' provided a second goal for the hosts.  Fernandes' brilliant touch was enough to make room on the right to cut the ball back to Denis Cheryshev, who did an excellent job of understanding the progression, and was able to float toward the ball and work his way over beautifully and put it home for a 2-0 advantage for the hosts.  It was the 3rd goal in 2 matches for Cheryshev, who has been brilliant thus far, getting two goals as a substitute in the opener, and another one as a starter in this match.
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The hosts still weren't done, and this time it was Dzyuba's turn as he excellently took a ball from Kutepov down inside the area, after cutting past Gabr and then slotting it home, giving goalkeeper El-Shenawy no chance as he bent it just inside the right-hand post for a beautiful one-touch and put-it-home finish.  The second goal in just 3' sent the Russians into a frenzy as they increased the lead to 3-0.
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Egypt continued to press forward, knowing they needed a virtual miracle at that point to get back into the match, and when Salah was held at the edge of the box at just over the 70' mark, Egypt finally had their opportunity.  The referee originally awarded the free-kick from the very edge of the box, but after replay it was clear that the contact continued well into the area and that a penalty from the spot was merited.  The referee awarded the penalty after replay, and Salah stepped up to the spot with purpose.  He delivered a beautiful penalty as he hit a solid strike across his body over the keeper, who guessed the right way, but had no chance thanks to the perfect combination of placement and power from Salah.  It was Egypt's first goal in the competition, but they were unable to build off of it.  Salah nearly got free again in the 90' as he attempted to maneuver through three in the box, but was unable to get one off.  The hosts closed out another dominant victory, and with two wins and a goal differential of +7 on two matches (8-1) it appears safe to say that the hosts will be rejoicing on to the knockout round.
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Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @thesportsguy
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