MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Tuesday at the World Cup (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
The first red card of the World Cup has been awarded against Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez for handling a goal-bound shot in the area in the fifth minute against Japan. Shinji Kagawa slotted the resultant penalty to give Japan an early 1-0 lead.
More than 10,000 Colombian fans at the stadium jeered.
Four years ago Japan was beaten 4-1 by Colombia also during group stage in Brazil.
Minutes earlier, the kick-off was delayed after the teams had to switch directions.
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2:40 p.m.
A road has flooded outside a designated World Cup hotel in Nizhny Novgorod, leaving cars half-submerged and forcing local residents to wade knee-deep through the water.
The flood, which followed a rain shower in the central Russian city, abated soon after.
The flood outside the Hampton by Hilton hotel, a designated media hotel for the tournament, also brought local news reporters to the scene. One television cameraman removed his trousers and waded through the water in his underwear while filming. A hotel staff member also had to get through the water to retrieve possessions from his parked car.
Nizhny Novgorod, about 400 milometers (250 miles) east of Moscow, will host four group games, one round-of-16 game and a quarterfinal at the World Cup. The Hampton by Hilton is on the other side of the city to the World Cup stadium.
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2:21 p.m.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has chosen not to start attacking midfielder James Rodriguez in the starting lineup for the side’s World Cup opener against Japan.
The 26-year-old was the top scorer of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with six goals in five matches. But the Bayern Munich player has been hampered lately by a left calf injury.
Also dropped was defender Yerry Mina, who had been a mainstay in the lineup during qualifying but has not been a regular for Barcelona.
Recently hired Japan coach Akira Nishino is leaving Leicester City forward Shinji Okazaki out of the starting lineup. He practiced Monday for the first time in five days because of a right calf strain. Yuya Osako of Werder Bremen will start in his place.
Lineups:
Colombia: David Ospina, Santiago Arias, Johan Mojica, Jefferson Lerma, Oscar Murillo, Davinson Sánchez, Juan Cuadrado, Juan Quintero, Carlos Sanchez, Jose Izquierdo, Radamel Falcao.
Japan: Eiji Kawashima, Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Gen Shoji, Makoto Hasebe, Takashi Inui, Shinji Kagawa, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Yuya Osako.
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1:20 p.m.
American Mark Geiger has been selected to referee Wednesday’s World Cup match between Portugal and Morocco.
Geiger becomes the second American to referee at two World Cups after David Socha in 1982 and 1986.
A 43-year-old from Beachwood, New Jersey, Geiger worked three games in Brazil four years ago, becoming the first American to referee a knockout stage match when he officiated France’s 2-0 win over Nigeria in the round of 16.
Geiger was the Video Assistant Referee for last weekend’s game between Argentina and Iceland.
The U.S. is the only nation with two referees at the World Cup. Jair Murrufo has not yet been assigned a match.
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11:45 a.m.
Officials say an engine of a Russian plane carrying the Saudi Arabia team to a World Cup host city caught fire during landing.
Russia’s federal agency for air traffic says in a statement that the Airbus airplane flying from St. Petersburg to the southern city of Rostov-on-Don landed safely Monday night and did not require any emergency procedures.
Tuesday’s statement says the passenger plane landed with both of its engines working and the passengers disembarked normally. An investigation into the incident has begun.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation posted pictures of the players exiting the plan on Monday night and a statement on Twitter saying it “would like to reassure everyone that all the Saudi national team players are safe, after a technical failure in one of the airplane engines that has just landed in Rostov-on-Don airport, and now they’re heading to their residence safely.”
The Saudis were beaten 5-0 by Russia in the World Cup opener in Moscow last week and play Uruguay in Rostov-on-Don on Wednesday.
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11:30 a.m.
Brazil’s jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has made his debut as a football pundit.
Behind bars, he wrote a column for Worker’s Party TV on Monday criticizing Brazil’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Switzerland at the World Cup
“Qualifying is one thing. The World Cup is different,” da Silva wrote. “Switzerland was strong in defense, playing rough, and didn’t allow Brazil to perform. They also stopped Neymar by fouling him again and again.”
Da Silva, who started serving a 12-year sentence for corruption in April, can still appeal his conviction, which he calls politically fabricated.
Da Silva also said “the first week of the World Cup proves Germany is not unbeatable and, among the top players, only Cristiano Ronaldo proved his value.”
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10:40 a.m.
Senegal President Macky Sall is in Russia and will attend his country’s World Cup game against Poland in Moscow.
Senegal is returning to the World Cup for the first time since a thrilling run to the quarterfinals on its tournament debut in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
The president’s office says Sall will watch Senegal play Poland at Spartak Stadium on Tuesday during a three-day visit to Russia . He’ll also hold meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sall was invited to the World Cup by FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura, who is from Senegal.
Senegal is Africa’s last chance of getting a win in the first volley of games at the World Cup. Egypt (1-0 to Uruguay), Morocco (1-0 to Iran), Nigeria (2-0 to Croatia) and Tunsia (2-1 to England) all lost their group openers.
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