SARANSK, Russia, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Juan Quintero's free-kick cancelled out a Shinji Kagawa penalty as 10-man Colombia drew level with Japan at halftime of their Group H match here on Tuesday.

Colombia suffered a blow before the match when Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez was left out with a leg muscle problem.

As expected, the Cafeteros' all-time leading scorer Radamel Falcao was included in the starting eleven, having missed the 2014 World Cup with a knee injury.

Japan, who lost to Colombia 4-1 during the group stage in Brazil four years ago, included experienced pair Kagawa and Yuto Nagatomo in their starting lineup.

It took just three minutes for the game to take a sharp turn in Japan's favor at Mordovia Arena. Yuya Osako streamed forward on the counterattack and forced a reflex save from David Ospina, but the ball rebounded for Kagawa, whose shot was impeded by Carlos Sanchez's right arm.

Slovenian referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot immediately and showed the Espanyol midfielder a straight red card.

Kagawa then sent Ospina the wrong way with his spot-kick to give the Blue Samurai a dream start.

Colombia manager Jose Pekerman introduced Boca Juniors holding midfielder Wilmar Barrios on the half-hour mark, sacrificing Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado, to give his team extra reinforcement as Japan threatened to double their lead.

But it was the South Americans who struck six minutes before the interval through River Plate playmaker Quintero. The 25-year-old fired under the Japan wall, beating a lunging Eiji Kawashima, who grasped the ball after it had already crossed the line.