Colombia made it all the way to the quarter-finals four years ago and will have high hopes of making similar progress at the 2018 World Cup.

Los Cafeteros will certainly be confident that they can make a winning start against Japan on Tuesday, having thrashed the same opposition 4-1 four years ago.

Having already dispatched Greece and the Ivory Coast, Colombia ran riot in Cuiaba in Brazil and will hope for a similar result in Saransk.

Colombia to win by two goals – 4.50

With a wealth of attacking options at their disposal, Colombia should have too much firepower for the Blue Samurai, with James Rodriguez, Carlos Bacca and Radamel Falcao all fit and firing.

A win by one goal at 3.05 is certainly tempting, but the South Americans are capable of better than that and a two-goal victory should be well within their capabilities.

Colombia to win to nil – 2.30

Jose Pekerman’s side have kept clean sheets in three of their last four World Cup warm-up games and so would seem to be well-drilled at the back, a crucial piece of the jigsaw if they are to allow their star-studded attack to flourish.

There a win without conceding is on the cards, with Colombia 1.83 to keep a clean sheet also worth considering as a back-up option.

James Rodriguez to score at any time – 3.00

Having been top scorer at the World Cup four years ago, much will be expected of James Rodriguez this time around. After a slow start to the domestic season, he started to show some real form for Bayern Munich.

However, he is far from the only threat posed by Colombia, with Falcao no doubt desperate to make up for the disappointment of missing the finals in Brazil four years ago due to a serious knee injury.

He is 2.25 to score at any time against the Japanese and that may be a too skinny when compared to his team-mate Rodriguez.