Back in Mexico, the teams have arrived at Estadio Guadalajara.
After filing to find the back of the net in Portugal’s opening game, Ronaldo’s relief was palpable in Houston.
There have long been question marks over his continued ability to lead Portugal on this stage, but after the final whistle he shouted into a television camera: “I’m back, I’m back.”
Checking in with Group K now, and the first match today was a cracking one, including one disallowed goal that would have been in contention for best of the tournament so far.
Portugal were clinical in their 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. As Nick Ames writes, the Asian side were “utterly unequipped” to handle the skill of Ronaldo et al.
Golden oldies fighting for the golden boot? Let us not get ahead of ourselves. But it will do Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego no harm that he is off the mark for this summer, particularly given Lionel Messi’s voracious appetite to keep long-burning fires ablaze. Nor will it pass unnoticed that he has broken a record of his own. In breaching Uzbekistan twice during the opening period of what quickly became a leisurely non-contest, Ronaldo became the first player to score in six editions of the World Cup.
It was noted yesterday that Algeria v Jordan had the San Francisco Bay Area stadium awash with red, white and green (sorry Italy). Well, from what I can see so far today, Guadalajara is a haze of a yellow, blue and red. And my goodness are these fans going all out. We love to see it!
I’d love to hear from you, wherever you are. Any Colombia or DR Congo fans out there? Let me know how you’re planning to follow the game today, and any thoughts you have on the teams. I’m at jo.khan@theguardian.com.
Thanks Martin. The other Group K match finished a few hours ago, with Ronaldo announcing that he’s back in Portugal’s 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan. I’ll get into that match in a moment. But first, you may want to check in with the live football in Toronto where Panama and Croatia are locked in a close battle. Jeff Reuter has all the action from that one:
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Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup match between Colombia and DR Congo at Estadio Guadalajara. Kick-off in this Group K game is 8pm local/11pm EDT/3am BST/12pm AEST.
Colombia are out to book their place in the knockouts after opening their World Cup campaign with a victory over Uzbekistan. Daniel Muñoz’s stunning strike sparked Colombia but they needed a moment of brilliance from Luis Díaz to reclaim the lead after Uzbekistan levelled in the second half. Jaminton Campaz nodded home the sealer deep into stoppage time. Another win today in Guadalajara would leave top spot in Group K in Colombia’s own hands before a meeting with Portugal in Miami.
DR Congo also impressed when earning their first-ever World Cup point in their opener against the highly fancied Portugal. A breakthrough win over Colombia would all but ensure their campaign continues into the round of 32, while another point would leave them well-placed ahead of their clash with Uzbekistan. Veteran attacker Cédric Bakambu rose to the occasion with an hearty performance but it was Yoane Wissa who levelled on the cusp of half-time before DR Congo frustrated Portugal with a deep-lying defence.
I’ll be back later with the line-ups then the live action. In the meantime, Jo Khan is here with all the buildup and the latest from the World Cup. Get in touch with any questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot Jo an email. Let’s get into it!
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