World Cup: Colombia thrash insipid Poland
Kazan (Russia), June 25 : Colombia thrashed Poland 3-0 in a Group H encounter of the FIFA World Cup here on Sunday.
Yerry Mina (40th minute), Radamel Falcao (70th) and Juan Cuadrado (75th) scored for Columbia. The win kept alive Columbia's chances of advancing from the group stage.
They are on three points from two matches. They had been defeated 1-2 by Japan in their first game.
Poland, who had been defeated by Senegal in their previous match, have no points and are as good as out of the tournament. Colombia dominated proceedings right from the start.
The South Americans controlled possession beautifully and Poland struggled to contain their star-studded attacking line-up.
Cuadrado was impressive form, keeping the capacity crowd awestruck with his runs down the right wing.
He formed a superb combination with Juan Quintero and the duo created all sorts of problems for the Poland defence.
Apart from his good work upfront, Cuadrado also did some really good defensive work, falling back with speed whenever Poland went on the counter.
Poland never really seemed to be in the game and created very little scoring chances.
They have one of the best centre forwards in the world in Robert Lewandowski but Poland's link up play from the midfield was rendered ineffective by Columbia's excellent defensive organisation.
The Bayern Munich star was left totally isolated in the absence of proper support from the midfield.
Whenever Poland went on the attack, Colombia's speed down the flanks saw the Europeans being caught on the counter.
Colombia took the lead shortly before half time off a corner when James Rodr Aguez floated in a cross into the penalty box and Mina rose above the Poland defence to head the ball in.
The South Americans continued to dominate after the break and created scoring chances at regular intervals. But a combination of poor finishing and excellent defending by Poland prevented them from scoring.
But Colombia could not be denied for long as Falcao, who seemed to be struggling with his form, finally found his scoring touch.
A quick attack by Colombia saw Quintero put forward an excellent through and Falcao raced into the opposition box and calmly slotted home into the bottom-left corner.
Poland were forced to go all out in attack which saw Cuadrado score Colombia's third goal off a fast counter a short while later.
James initiated the move charging out of defence down the left wing before finding Cuadrado upfront.
Cuadrado, who had raced down the right wing before receiving the ball in the centre, continued his run and beat Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with an excellent finish.
That virtually sealed the issue as Poland never seemed capable of scoring and Colombia clinched a well deserved victory.
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NITI Aayog's MMR blueprint a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, Nov 17: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday alleged that the NITI Aayog's blueprint to develop the metropolitan region was a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra by undermining the BMC's importance.
If voted to power, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will scrap the MoU signed between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and MMRDA as it is aimed at diminishing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's importance, he said.
Addressing a rally at the BKC ground in Mumbai on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the assembly elections concluded, Thackeray said he wouldn't hesitate to disband the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) if it encroaches on the BMC's jurisdiction.
"A conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra is not just a loose talk but an impending serious crisis. The ploy is real but we will never allow this to happen," he said.
Thackeray said the MMRDA and WEF signed an agreement in September to develop MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) as a global economic hub which was signed after Niti Aayog's report on MMR development.
"The Niti Aayog's blueprint diminishes the importance of the Mumbai civic body which is a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra," he alleged.
Thackeray said the first decision of the MVA government will be to scrap policies of the (Mahayuti) government which handed over Mumbai's land to the Adani group.
The former chief minister said he was "not anti-development but is anti-destruction".
Thackeray claimed the MVA government headed by him was toppled (in June 2022) and Shiv Sena split because he had not allowed the looting of Maharashtra.
In an apparent reference to the Shiv Sena MLAs' disqualification case in the Supreme Court, saying, "The courts haven't given me justice. I seek justice from you for the sake of Maharashtra".
Thackeray said the BJP had to construct the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who had banned RSS, in Gujarat and seek votes in Maharashtra in Balasaheb Thackeray's name, which he said was "revenge of time".
Attacking PM Narendra Modi over the "Ek hai to Safe Hai" slogan, Thackeray said if people feel unsafe while Modi is at the helm then he should resign.
"Only corrupt and traitors feel safe when Modi is around," he alleged.
Thackeray said Maharashtra was facing a grave crisis as "airports, ports, electricity, mines, and schools are being handed over to Adani".
Urging people to support the MVA, Thackeray said Maharashtra will be destroyed if the Mahayuti returns to power.
Thackeray recalled Shiv Sena's support for the abrogation of Article 370 and Bal Thackeray sheltering Kashmiri pandits fleeing persecution.
"Amit Shah and Narendra Modi weren't known to the world at that time," he said.
Targeting the BJP over its poll campaign, he said the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir doesn't impact Minimum Support Price, unemployment, and women's security in Maharashtra.
He said people of Gujarat should realise that Modi and Amit Shah have created a barrier between the western state and the rest of the country.
"How can they move projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat? You should stop them," he added.
