Colombia defeated Senegal 1-0 to advance to the World Cup round of 16 as Group H winners in a result that sent the African side out of the competition on the fair play ranking.
It meant that, as the full time whistles blew in Samara and Volgograd, Senegal were eliminated due to having accumulated two more yellow cards than Japan.
Senegal remains Africa's only hope for a place in the next round but face an uphill task in an overcoming a Colombia team that is n the ascendancy and also have their key player - James Rodriguez peaking at the most crucial time.
James Rodriguez, arguably the star of the team and victor of the best young player award of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, was taken off in the first half with a suspected injury, so we'll have to see how he progresses before playing Belgium or England in the next round.
Senegal were pushed back in the early stages of the second half, but had the chance to go ahead when Mane lined up for a free-kick but he slipped heavily on the turf and eventually skewed wide.
In the end, it's Colombia and Japan to the knockout stage in an open tournament full of surprises. Yerry Mina scored the only goal in the match.
Yet Mina ensured Colombia were not made to pay when he headed home in the 74th minute.
Mina, 6-foot-5, leapt above a pair of Senegalese defenders to head the ball hard off the ground and off Senegal goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye's hand, sending the enthusiastic Colombian fans at Samara Stadium into a frenzy. Japan, content with a 1-0 defeat to Poland in the simultaneous match, was stalling because it would advance if the scores remained the same.
Intervention from VAR saw referee Milorad Mazic overturn his original decision, with replays having shown that Sanchez had expertly taken the ball off the toe of Sadio Mane as the Liverpool winger ran through on goal. It referenced the murder of Colombian defender Andres Escobar following an own-goal at the 1994 World Cup.
Senegal's last appearance in the World Cup came in 2002, when the team reached the quarterfinals. Aliou Cisse's goal didn't just concede a late goal, they bowed out on yellow cards.
