The Asian side's thrilling advance to the brink of the last 16 - which had so much to do with Colombia imploding in the first minutes of the opening game the two sides played - had always obscured their technical deficiencies at the back.
They haunted Japan again on this occasion. A free kick swung in by Rafal Kurzawa just before the hour mark evaded fully three of Akira Nishino's defenders and sailed through to Jan Bednarek, who volleyed home to preserve some pride for the nation. Whoever plays the Japanese in Rostov on Tuesday will take great heart from the ineptitude. Once it was clear the Japanese were through, the game descended into a pitiful spectacle of both sides knocking the ball around between themselves, to monumental jeers from both sets of fans. It was desperate fare from Poland, who owed their fans something after a grim few weeks. But it was deeply unintelligent from Japan, who would have disappeared out of the competition if the Senegalese had scored again.
All told, it was a massive escape from embarrassment for Nishino. The Japan coach had said before the match that 'we do not think Poland are invincible; we do not think Poland are indestructible', yet his team selection was still extraordinary by any standards. He rested no fewer than six players for a game in which qualification remained in the balance.
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