Colombia VS Japan Match Prediction
2018-06-19
12:00:00
Colombia
VS
Japan
Our Prediction Tip
Colombia will win this match.
2018-06-1912:00:00 Colombia will win this match.
Colombia’s 4-1 win in the last World Cup was their second in three games against Japan, with one goalless draw in the other match. In both previous meetings at a major tournament, Colombia have triumphed. They won 1-0 at the Confederations Cup in 2003 before their win last time out. Shinji Okazaki scored Japan's goal in that game, while Colombia’s goalscorers included James Rodriguez on his way to winning the Golden Boot.
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Japan have not beaten Colombia in three previous attempts, including their 4-1 defeat at the last World Cup
Colombia have won just two of their last nine matches, and have failed to score in either of their last two
Japan’s win against Paraguay last time out was their first win in six games, and first under new manager Akira Nishino
James Rodriguez scored six goals in five games last time out, netting in each of Colombia’s five World Cup matches - he has therefore scored in every World Cup game he has played
Colombia’s form has been poor of late, but they did enough to qualify for the World Cup and have not actually lost since a defeat to South Korea in November.
Japan, by contrast, were without a win in five before their most recent friendly victory against Paraguay and had lost four of those. If you exclude the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, they had not previously won since October.
Colombia also boast Radamel Falcao up front and the previous Golden Boot winner, James Rodriguez, just behind him. Rodriguez scored in all five matches at the last World Cup and will be keen to maintain that record.
Japan have welcomed back their own star forwards – Shinji Okazaki and Shinji Kagawa – after both were dropped by the previous manager, but Colombia have not conceded in either of their last two matches.
Their issue has been up front, but Japan have conceded 13 goals in their last six matches, so this is the perfect opportunity for Colombia’s front men to get back to goalscoring ways.
The South Americans are favourites, and should be beating Japan to start their 2018 World Cup in winning fashion.
Colombia are odds-on favourites to beat Japan and you can get 8/11 on the South American side winning their opening game with Bet365.
Given Colombia have kept clean sheets in each of their last two matches, it is no surprise to see you can bet against both teams to score at 8/11 with Betfair, meanwhile.
For the same reason, a Colombia win to nil could be tempting – Bet365 are offering 6/4 on that eventuality.
Colombia have not scored in two matches either though, and under 2.5 goals will return 4/6 with Betfair.
On the topic of goals, James Rodriguez scored in all five games during the last World Cup. Radamel Falcao is favourite to score at any time (7/5 with Betfair) but Rodriguez is worth backing at 21/10 with Betfair and Paddy Power.
1) Colombia to win at 8/11 with Bet365
2) Total goals = under 2.5 at 4/6 with Betfair
3) James Rodriguez to score at any time at 21/10 with Paddy Power
Colombia may not have scored in either of their last two games, but they face a Japanese team with a leaky defence, who only ended their recent losing streak in their final warm-up match. Colombia are favourites, and the 2014 quarter-finalists should start with a win.
Colombia played just the one World Cup warm-up match, with Yerry Mina starting in central defence ahead against Egypt, but Cristian Zapata is set to return against Japan. Since that game, Frank Fabra has also been ruled out of the World Cup with injury, which opens the way for Girona’s Johan Mojica to start against Japan.
James Rodriguez scored in each of Colombia’s five games to win the Golden Boot as he fired them to the quarter-finals in Brazil four years ago. He has 21 goals in 63 appearances in total. Only one player in the current squad has more, with Radamel Falcao at the World Cup four years after injury ruled him out. The Colombian captain has scored 29 times in 73 games.
Colombia team overturned a 2-0 loss to beat France back in March, with Radamel Falcao among the goalscorers and Juan Fernando Quintero scoring the late winner from the penalty spot. They have failed to score in both of their matches since, however - goalless draws with Australia in England and Egypt in Italy.
Akira Nishino’s first win in charge of Japan football team in the most recent warm-up match ended a five-match winless run. With Shinji Okazaki and Shinji Kagawa fit and back in the squad, both started the match in Austria against Paraguay. Eiji Kawashima did not feature in goal but he is set to return in place of Masaaki Higashiguchi in what could be the only change from that win.
Shinji Okazaki scored Japan’s goal in this fixture four years ago, and the Leicester City striker has 50 from 113 international appearances in total. Shinji Kagawa has 30 from 92, meanwhile – including one in the win against Paraguay last time out. Kagawa had also set up both of Takashi Inui’s goals in that game.
Japan beat Paraguay 4-2 in Austria last time out to ended a run of five matches without a win. Two goals for Takashi Inui, an own goal and a late Shinji Kagawa strike earned Japan their much-needed victory. Previously, they had lost three in a row – 2-1 to Ukraine, 2-0 to Ghana and 2-0 to Switzerland – following a last-minute 1-1 draw with Mali in March.
The first match in Group H of the 2018 World Cup sees 2014 quarter-finalists Colombia take on former hosts Japan at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk. This will be the second consecutive time the two nations have met at the FIFA World Cup, after Colombia won 4-1 in the same fixture in Brazil. This year’s match takes place on Tuesday June 19, and is schedule to kick off at 3pm local time.
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