I believe that before the ball is played, anything can happen, but then you shouldn't body slam another player down so blatantly, especially in front of referee and VAR cameras.
I was actually rooting for Colombia too. My British bias vibe doesn't impede me from supporting their opponent. But Sanchez somehow thought he need to sacrifice himself in the first 5 minute. What the hell? You got superior team, let the Japanese score, and you'll have all the time in the world to get back. Then they resorted to dirty play and mobbing the referees to make up for their 1 man deficit. They rinse and repeat the same style against England, just because they can't have Rodriguez. These lot are the unluckiest team in the entire tournament, and I am very very sad for them:
In 2014, I was ecstatic to see Falcao in action for Colombia, but he got injured and cannot make it. However, they presented us with magnificent James Rodríguez. I was wowed and they become instant favourite. Brazil's win over them was dirty and unwatchable. That 1-7 loss after they undeservedly knocked Colombia out was probably karma.
In 2018, I was expecting Falcao-Rodríguez duo one a great veteran, the other an aspiring superstar in his prime demolishing the tourney's big teams. Yet what I saw is completely different: Rodríguez is recovering from his injury, and Falcao never really show something that remind us of his glorious days. Falcao becomes a cheeky sneering coward, who exchanged his now gone skills with diving theatrics, incessant referee provokings, and numerous wasted chances. The rest of the team simply gave up and decided played dirty when they can't win clean against Japan. I feel bad for James. He should have risen to the level of Forlán, Batistuta, Suárez, Kaká, and replaced Valderrama as Colombian legend, but life is very unfair towards him.
Now the only Latin American representatives left are Uruguay and Brazil. I hope Uruguay will survive the upcoming onslaught from the world's most expensive football team. I know the odds are heavily unfavourable towards them. But the French needs to be solid too, as they are