Evening all and thanks for joining us as we bring you live coverage of Poland's Group H clash with Colombia in Group H of the World Cup. Both sides started off with defeats in their opening games, while Japan's 1-1 draw with Senegal early this evening means that should there be a loser in this contest tonight, they will be eliminated from the tournament with a game still to be played.

POLAND STARTING XI: Szczesny; Pazdan, Bednarek, Piszczek; Krychowiak, Goralski, Rybus, Bereszynski; Zielnski, Kownacki, Lewandowski

POLAND SUBSTITUTES: Bialkowski, Fabianski, Jedrzejczyk, Cionek, Milik, Linetty, Grosicki, Teodorczyk, Glik, Blaszczykowski, Peszko, Kurzawa

COLOMBIA STARTING XI: Ospina; Arias, Y. Mina, Sanchez, Mojica; Barrios, Aguilar; Quintero, James, Cuadrado; Falcao

COLOMBIA SUBSTITUTES: Vargas, J.F. Cuadrado, Zapata, Murillo, C. Sanchez, Bacca, Muriel, Uribe, Lerma, Diaz, Borja, Izquierdo

The major news is that coach Adam Nawalka has opted to change his whole formation for this game in a switch to a 3-4-3 from a 4-2-3-1 and the coach has also decided to bring in a number of new faces. The Eagles are led by a three-man forward line that sees Robert Lewandowski playing alongside Dawid Kownacki and Piotr Zielinski.

Looking to hold the midfield will be a central pairing of Grzegorz Krychowiak and Jacek Goralski, while Maciej Rybus and Bartosz Bereszynski feature as Poland's wing-backs. At the back the Eagles will sit with a trio of Michal Pazdan, Jan Bednarek and Lukasz Piszczek.

The key piece of news for Colombia fans is that James Rodriguez returns off the bench to earn himself a start tonight. Colombia will be operating with a 4-2-3-1 with an attack that is led by frontman Radamel Falcao. The striker will then be supported by a deeper-lying three made up of James, Juan Cuadrado and Juan Fernando Quintero.

In the middle, Colombia are without Carlos Sanchez following his red card against Japan, leaving both Wilmar Barrios and Abel Aguilar to hold the centre. Davinson Sanchez and Yerry Mina are the centre-backs, leaving Santiago Arias and Johan Mojica in the full-back berths. Arsenal's David Ospina starts between the sticks.

Poland came into the tournament as an arguably slim outsider to go a little deeper than usual, but should made a lot more of a more-than-winnable game against Senegal, which instead turned out to be a nightmare for Nawałka's charges.

The Eagles ended up losing 2-1 at the Spartak Stadium and never really looked like being in the game. Senegal took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a Thiago Cionek own goal and a second-half finish from M'Baye Niang. Krychowiak gave Poland hope with a late goal, but Senegal were deserved victors.

This contest with Colombia might have been considered the match to decide who would eventually top the group, but with both sides losing their openers, Poland are in desperate need of three points to merely keep their qualification hopes intact. Following Japan's 2-2 draw with Senegal earlier today, should somebody lose tonight then they would be heading out of the tournament with a game still to be played.

Key to improvement tonight will surely mean eradicating so many of those individual errors that led to the defeat against Senegal. Finding a way of bringing Lewandowksi into the game more frequently will likely help ease the forward burden on the Poles in Kazan too. The switch to a 3-4-3 from the off here is a bold one and Nawalka is clearly up for taking a chance after what he saw in his side's opening game.

Poland have never qualified for the second phase after losing their opening game and that might be a statistic that comes back to haunt Nawalka and his men in the coming weeks.

Requiring a crucial victory today, Poland will be well aware of their poor form in recent World Cup showings. The Eagles have lost seven of their past nine World Cup matches and have failed to score in six of those defeats.

Coach Nawalka actually earned his 34th and final international cap for Poland when playing against Colombia in a friendly. It was the first-ever meeting between the nations and Poland won out with a 4-1 victory.

At the back, Poland have not kept a clean sheet in their last nine matches at the World Cup. The country's last shutout came in a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the Mexico 1986 edition of the tournament. Maybe a switch in formation could change that here?

The form of Lewandowski was particularly frustrating in the game against Senegal - the Bayern Munich frontman was virtually missing for large parts of the contest. Having said that, the forward has netted 21 goals in his last 16 appearances for his national team and remains a key man should Poland want to find a way out of this challenging group.

One thing we should be guaranteed in this game is goals. There have actually been over 2.5 goals scored in Poland's last 11 games in the varying editions of the World Cup.

Here's an educational highlights package for those keen to see just how Poland fell apart against Senegal last week:

Colombia come into the game aiming to get their World Cup underway proper. The country's opening-game defeat to Japan could hardly be viewed as a fair representation of Jose Pekerman and his charges.

The 2-1 defeat saw Colombia down to 10 men after only three minutes, when Carlos Sanchez was shown the second-fastest World Cup red card. Colombia had to play the majority of the game with a man down and for the most part still made the game a contest for Japan.

That said, Pekerman came into the tournament under mounting pressure after some poor showings since the nation's promising turnout four years ago in Brazil. The defeat will not have helped the coach despite the unforgiving circumstances against Japan. Pekerman is now thought to be under some serious pressure to keep his job at the helm of Colombia.

The red card against Japan was Colombia's first ever sending off in the competition and Sanchez's blunder might well have cost his nation progress inside three minutes of tournament football.

Here's how that game played out, inclusive of Sanchez's wild handball inside three minutes:

Quintero bagged a leveller to at least make a game of things and became the first Colombian player to score in two different World Cup tournaments after also notching in Brazil. Colombia could be ruing what might have been had Sanchez not been dismissed so early on.

What should make a monumental difference this time around, though, is the return of playmaker Rodriguez. The Bayern Munich attacker did not start the opener because of injury. The 26-year-old has 21 goals and 18 assists in 64 appearances for Colombia. James is now featuring in his second World Cup too.

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Much like Poland, defeat in their opening game means that three points from this clash will be vital for Colombia should they want to mount a serious challenge to make it out of the group stages. The two teams also know that defeat tonight would leave them out of the tournament with a game still to play.

Only once before have Colombia lost both of their opening two games in a World Cup tournament, doing so against Romania and the USA back in 1994.

Given Poland's notoriety for both scoring and conceding in World Cup fixtures, it's also worth noting that none of Colombia's 19 games at the World Cup have ended goalless.

Tonight marks the first competitive match between the two nations at international level. Colombia won the most recent friendly 2-1 in Chorzow in 2006.

Colombia have struggled in the tournament when paired with European nations. Los Cafeteros have won just two of their nine previous World Cup fixtures against European sides. As for Poland, the Eagles have won four and lost five against South American opposition in the World Cup.

PREDICTION: Poland's switch to a different formation could solve a few of their issues, but this side is heavily reliant on Lewandowski for success. The return of James from the start could be a huge boost for Colombia and Pekerman's side certainly have the quality in the final third to do damage against Poland. We did not see a full representation of the South Americans with a man down against Japan and I'm backing Los Cafeteros to send the Eagles tumbling out of the showpiece with a 2-1 victory this evening.

Falcao still has plenty to prove after an up-and-down few years, but the frontman is determined to help lead his side into the second round:

"We have two more games ahead and that means we still have the opportunity to progress to the next round. That gives us hope and it is in our own hands on the pitch. This team has shown it is mentally strong. It will be like a final. Each team will battle hard to keep the ball, and will close down the space for their opponents to operate in. Perhaps we won't make as many mistakes as we did before, because we all know this is a match that will determine who will continue in the World Cup."

We are now running through the respective national anthems and should be underway shortly afterwards...

Here is a quick recap of the starting XIs before we get moving at the Kazan Arena.

POLAND STARTING XI: Szczesny; Pazdan, Bednarek, Piszczek; Krychowiak, Goralski, Rybus, Bereszynski; Zielinski, Kownacki, Lewandowski

COLOMBIA STARTING XI: Ospina; Arias, Y. Mina, Sanchez, Mojica; Barrios, Aguilar; Quintero, James, Cuadrado; Falcao

Here we go then, Poland get us moving kicking from right to left in red and white, while Colombia are in all blue tonight.

The atmosphere inside this stadium is something special. Poland race forward down the left channel where Kownacki bends a shot into the middle, but his effort is deflected away by Sanchez.

Poland have started with commendable energy in these opening minutes and they almost catch Colombia sleeping at a corner. Mina is alive to react quickly, however, pressing well to prevent the Eagles profiting from a short set-piece.

The Eagles are enjoying a positive start and room is found down the right before the ball is turned into the middle for Lewandowski. The striker does well to battle for the loose ball, but cannot beat a sandwich from Mina and Sanchez who combine well to put the frontman off his header.

OUCH! Mina is in some serious pain on the deck after he gets his hand trodden on by Lewandowski. It's not malicious but it'll certainly hurt the Colombia centre-back.

For the first time in the game Colombia up the tempo and pass through Poland's ranks with relative ease. Some neat combination play allows Falcao to send James on the charge down the left flank, but the Eagles deal with the eventual cross fairly comfortably.

This certainly has the feel of a game with plenty riding on it. Poland are being rather forceful when going forward, while Colombia are taking their time to suss their opponents out in the opening stages.

Cuadrado drifts into a pocket of space on the right wing and whips an early ball into the middle for Falcao, although Bednarek is across quickly to head clear.

Mojica gets forward for the first time this evening for Colombia as he scampers free down the left. The full-back turns one into the box for James, who is marshalled well by Poland centre-back Piszczek. The South Americans are slowly starting to venture forward with more enterprise.

Colombia are just starting to tick and the ball is swiftly moved out to Cuadrado on the right, who crosses first time into the box. Pazdan reads play well, however, producing a smart diving header to clear as the first man.

SHOT! Barrios gets caught out on the edge of his box leaving Zielinski to wind up from range. The forward sees his effort deflected away off the boot of Sanchez for a corner, which eventually comes to nothing when Colombia clear at the first time of asking.

CLOSE! Colombia break with real gusto from the middle of the pitch and Falcao should slip James away into space down the right channel. The forward delivers a poor ball, though, allowing Pazdan to intercept and prevent an almost-certain chance for Los Cafeteros.

CHANCE! PlayStation football from Colombia for a moment... The cheekiest of one-twos down the right sees Cuadrado and Quintero set Arias into space down the right. The full-back drives a cross into the box, where Bereszynski finds himself making a vital last-ditch interception.

Poland look vastly improved already from that listless displaying against Senegal. The 3-4-3 sees them playing with a little more guile and more importantly to an actual plan on the pitch.

Colombia have arguably secured some possessional dominance in the last few minutes and they look well set in the game as they search for an opener. Poland have backed off after a bright start but also appear more convincing than they did in their opening defeat.

Cuadrado has already been causing a few issues down the right and this time he turns in another promising cross for Falcao, but once again Bednarek is up early to win the header and clear his defensive lines.

You cannot knock the Colombian support this evening, the South Americans are making all sorts of noise inside the Kazan Arena. Deafening boos ring out inside the stadium whenever Poland string more than a few passes together.

SUBSTITUTION: Colombia are forced into an early change with Aguilar being forced off through an injury that initially looked rather innocuous. Mateus Uribe takes up the mantel in the centre of the pitch.

Still Colombia look the more certain to carve out an opening. Arias receives the ball from a short corner, but his cross towards Sanchez at the back-post is headed away by Piszczek.

Poland are fading rather quickly as we near the end of the first period. Lewandowski pulls wide to try to hold up possession, but a swarm of Colombian defenders descend and the frontman is quickly challenged.

CLOSE! Wonderful football now from Cuadrado as he leaves Pazdan with his metaphorical pants around his ankles with some standout skill. The winger charges to the byline, although his driven effort towards the near post is defended cleverly by Bednarek and Poland somehow escape unscathed.

This is a goal of understated beauty... Colombia catch Poland napping with a short corner where the ball is threaded into the path of Quintero, who then slips James into a pocket of space down the right side of the box. The Bayern man picks out a delightful chipped cross towards the back post, where Mina rises above the rest to head into the net.

Falcao has done brilliantly at times with his hold-up play. The frontman brings the ball out of the air and shakes off one marker, before sending Cuadrado galloping away down the right. Pazdan does well to recover but the move is a perfect example of the quality on offer for Colombia in the final third.

OFFSIDE! James thinks he's through as he is slipped in beyond the last man, but the linesman has his flag raised quickly for offside. It's a great decision and a huge warning for what can easily happen if Poland lose the ball deep again.

We are going to have four minutes of additional time in the first period, presumably for that injury to Aguilar.

Colombia are really enjoying themselves at the minute and will not want half time to arrive. It's down the right again where Los Cafeteros make inroads, although the final ball from Arias is a poor one and Piszczek is on hand to clear.

An intriguing first half here in Kazan and Colombia hold an advantage that they arguably deserve following an enterprising opening 45 minutes. Remember, should Poland lose here they would be heading out of the World Cup with one group game still to be played.

Poland initially appeared to be playing to some sort of game plan with this revised 3-4-3, but the Eagles have faded drastically after a fairly energised opening. It's been Colombia doing all of the pushing thus far and a piece of quality from James has been the difference, as he set Mina up for that towering header just before the break.

SECOND HALF! We are moving again, Colombia get the second half going at the Kazan Arena. Poland need a goal here to remain in the World Cup...

Bereszynski does well to find room on the right and beat his man with some smart skill, although his eventual ball across the box is hacked away by Mina before it can reach Lewandowski.

This is perplexing to see Poland playing so listlessly going forward. Lewandowski's record in qualifying was nothing short of outstanding but he is nowhere to be seen tonight.

Quintero finds time on the ball in the middle and he winds up from range after being given license by a deep Poland defence. The eventual shot is always drifting, though, leaving the ball to sail wide of the target.

Colombia have hit the ground running straight off in the second half and Cuadrado down the right is the man instigating things once more. The winger beats Pazdan out wide, but Szczesny is out early to smother the cross on the deck.

Poland have the chance to switch the ball out to the left to setup the counter, but Goralski's final delivery is poor and leaves the ball rolling out for a throw. Rybus might just have stolen in behind Arias there.

CHANCE! James leads a counter inside the Poland half and Falcao makes a blinding run to divert the attentions of the Eagles defence. The move opens up space for Quintero, whose eventual shot from the edge of the box is deflected away at the vital moment.

CHANCE! Colombia are almost caught out with a long ball forward that allows Lewandowski to break free off the shoulder of Mina. The Poland forward takes one touch before getting his shot away, although Ospina is quick off his line to cut the angle and make an important save.

Perhaps Poland should go a little more direct. That was their best chance of the game and came courtesy of a fairly Luddite ball forward from the back.

YELLOW CARD! Bednarek goes into the book now as he carelessly brings Mina to the deck with Colombia aiming to start a counter.

Lewandowski scored 16 goals in qualifying. Looking at this team here, it makes you wonder how exactly Poland were capable of carving out 16 opportunities for their frontman. The Eagles have been lacklustre to say the least this evening.

Poland need to lift themselves and quickly, as things stand the Eagles are heading out of the tournament after only two games. Colombia have dropped off a little in the last few minutes with the counter being posited as a potential outlet with the Eagles trying to shift up a gear.

Poland overload the box as Goralski sends the ball into the middle, where Krychowiak battles to send a pass back across the face of goal. Colombian defend solidly, though, as Arias stands firm to hoof clear.

'Poetry in motion' as the old mantra goes... Quintero is fed the ball just short of the area and the playmaker delivers a world-class ball first time beyond the defence to set Falcao free. The frontman makes no mistake with a prodded finish beyond Szczesny to bag his first World Cup goal. The ball to setup the chance was out of the top draw.

This looks like curtains now for Poland and you would not put it past Colombia on getting another goal tonight. Pekerman's men have shown standout glimpses of quality that have been just too much for the Poles.

Sublime football. James bends a ball straight across the defensive line from inside his own half to leave Cuadrado scampering through on goal. The winger takes his time to set himself and then applies a cool finish past Szczesny to make it 3-0. That will be a World Cup goal shown for many years to come. The vision from James is simply sublime...

Poland respond by loading men forward and a long ball is pumped into the middle. It's a little too simple, though, as Colombia drop off and head clear courtesy of Sanchez.

Colombia have shown their true colours here. They were far too easily written off after the defeat to Japan. Playing with 11 here has proved the difference. Los Cafeteros have been a cut above at the Kazan Arena.

We're having a slight stoppage here with Ospina on the deck. The keeper took a knock after a scramble inside the box with Krychowiak aiming to get his shot away.

Still nothing doing for Poland who do not appear in any particular hurry to force the issue. Colombia are taking their time here as they head towards a monumental victory.

Colombia set away on the counter but Cuadrado settles for a breather on the right flank. Allowing his teammates to retake their positions. Professional play from the winger there.

This might just be the side that England will not want to face in the second round. Colombia have been destructive at times this evening, especially on the counter.

We are going to have five minutes of additional time in the second half...

This is a huge result for Colombia, but just remember that they have plenty of work to do still. Victory over Senegal in their final game would certainly seal progression, though. It is still all in their own hands at the moment.

What a huge result that is for Pekerman and company. Colombia now need to beat Senegal in their final game in order to seal progression into the next round on their own terms. Poland were poor this evening and are deservedly eliminated with one game still to be played. Colombia have given themselves a huge lifeline here with a display that will likely send out a strong message to other sides at the tournament. That's going to be all from me tonight, thanks for joining us!