Poland victory over Japan in Group H last match in Volgograd Arena on Thursday (28/06/2018) does not stop the blue samurai team to advance to the knockout stage. Japan finished as Group H runner-up. Japan earns four points from three matches and qualify with group winner Colombia (6 points).

Both Japan and Senegal collect same points (4 point), and have same goal aggregate. Japan advanced to the knockout stages with fair play rules, Japan got four yellow cards while Senegal got six.

Of the five representatives of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the 2018 World Cup, four of them have been defeated. Saudi Arabia finished in third position in Group A, Iran finished in third position in Group B, Australia lost 0-2 to Peru in Group C final match, while South Korea finished in third position in Group F.

Japan is now the only Asian in the 2018 World Cup. Out of its six participation in the World Cup, Japan entered the knockout stage three times (2002, 2010, and 2018).  

Knockout stage is dominated by European (UEFA) whith 10 teams. The other four are from South America (CONMEBOL), and one is from CONCACAF.

Here is the full list:

UEFA

1. Portugal

2. France

3. Belgium

4. Spain

5. Russia

6. Croatia

7. Denmark

8. Sweden

9. Switzerland

10. England

CONMEBOL

1. Uruguay

2. Argentina

3. Brazil

4. Colombia

CONCACAF

1. Mexico

AFC

1. Japan