A bluffer's guide to Group H

Group H of the 2018 World Cup pits Colombia, Japan, Poland and Senegal against each other. Here are 10 facts about the group that is shaping up to be almost impossible to predict.

1. The boy with the golden boot

Colombian James Rodriguez’s impressive World Cup debut saw him take out the 2014 Golden Boot Award with a six goal haul.

2.Captain turns coach

This will be Senegal’s second World Cup after debuting in 2002 and making it to the quarter finals. Aliou Cissé was captain of that side and now returns to World Cup football as the coach of his national team.

Asensio's Screamer Vs FC Barcelona

In one of Real Madrid's most outstanding performances at the Camp Nou, Los Blancos beat FC Barcelona 3-1 in the Spanish Supercup. Real were leading 2-1 after Cristiano Ronaldo's 80th minute goal, but just before the final whistle, we sealed the win with this beautiful Marco Asensio strike.

0 seconds of 43 secondsVolume 0%

00:00

00:43

keep watching

Watch more Real Madrid videos on OneFootball

Senegal coach Aliou Cissé attends the Team Seminar prior to the 2018 World Cup Draw

3. Europe’s top scorer

Netting 16 goals in 10 games saw Robert Lewandowski finish as Europe’s top scorer in qualifiers.

4. The People’s coach

Argentinian born coach, José Pékerman, is so popular in Colombia he was awarded citizenship by country’s President Juan Manuel Santos.

Star power: Fans mob Colombia's coach Jose Pekerman at the Nicolas Leoz stadium in Asuncion

5. Consistency is key

Russia marks the 6th consecutive World Cup appearance for Japan, who will be looking to use this experience to progress past the Group Stage.

6. Colombia go back to back

Bowing out after the Group stages in 1998 Colombia didn’t return to the world stage until 2014, making Russia their first consecutive cup for 20 years.

7. Global Reach

Group H is representative of what the WORLD cup is all about with each team representing a different continent.

8. The German connection

A lot of the top names in this group have either played with or against each other in the Bundesliga. Polish front man Robert Lewandowski will face off against Bayern Munich teammate James Rodriguez while Japan’s Shinji Kagawa is at Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund's Japanese star Shinji Kagawa

9. Last minute change

Just two months out from the World Cup Japan replaced coach Vahid Halilhodžić with Akira Nishino. In an official statement the President of the Japanese Football Federation said Halilhodžić was replaced after losing the trust of his players.

10. Poland’s All-Timers

The Polish squad could soon boast about having two all-time greats in the same squad. Robert Lewandowski already holds the title of most goals and Jakub Blaszczykowski is only five games away from being Poland’s most capped player.