After all that, after all the qualification and buildup, after six hard-fought matches and injuries and hand-wringing, it all came down to yellow cards.
Just like Japan, Senegal won once, tied once, and lost once — falling by 1-0 to Colombia on Thursday after giving up a goal to Yerry Mina — but it will be the Japanese advancing to the knockout phase by virtue of having only three yellow cards, while Senegal had five.
[Here’s how the World Cup tie-breaker system works]
Colombia, which was in the most precarious position of the three teams (Poland had already been eliminated), emerged from the chaos, and the disappointment of losing James Rodríguez early in the first half, at the top of the Group.