We have seen 14 matches involving 28 teams during the 2018 World Cup, which means that there are four teams left to take their Russia bows, starting with Colombia and Japan. Their matchup will take place in Saransk in the early 14:00 kick off time on Tuesday.
Los Cafeteros seemed to be well on their way to safe qualification and took things for granted. A poor form at the end nearly cost them a World Cup spot. Jose Pekerman’s squad eventually finished fourth and was drawn in the balanced Group H. The Colombians will look to repeat their performances from 2014, when they reached the quarter-finals. James Rodriguez broke out as the young star of the tournament, leading his team to its biggest World Cup success to date.
Japan did not have a good quaification campaign and matters got worse when Vahid Halihodzic was sacked only two months prior to the tournament. His replacement Akira Nishino used to coach the Japanese youth teams and had never managed a match outside of Japan before the three preparation friendlies. Two of them were losses to Ghana and Switzerland, while the last one was an encouraging 4-2 victory over Paraguay. Meanwhile, Colombia played only one friendly fixture in June (a 0-0 draw with Egypt). Before that, it played games against Australia and France in March that resulted in another 0-0 draw and a remarkable 3-2 turnaround in Paris.
These two met during the group stage in Brazil. Colombia was very convincing, outscoring its Asian adversary 4-1. Neither squad has changed much from their 2014 encounter. James is older and wiser, Radamel Falcao is back in shape, while Tottenham’s center back Davinson Sanchez brings some fresh blood in the defence. Juan Cuadrado and Jose Izquierdo should provide pressure from the wings, while Arsenal’s David Ospina will look to reign over the penalty box. This is a team that has an equally good, if not better chance to be among the elite eight again.
The Land of the Rising Sun boasts a formidable group of players such as Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa, Leicester’s Shinji Okazaki, Eibar’s Takashi Inui, Southampton’s Maya Yoshida and Getafe’s Gaku Shibasaki, among others. However, with so little time to get accustomed to the wishes and tactical designs of their new coach, it’s difficult to imagine them getting past the group stage. That doesn’t mean they’ll give up, though.
“Every team has a star – Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mané and James Rodríguez, but we are not a team of stars.”
“We have intensity as a team and we are together though.”
– Shinji Okazaki
Mexico came into the match against Germany itching to revenge a 4-1 Confederations Cup loss and won. Can the Japanese do the same and avenge their 4-1 World Cup loss from four years ago? That, to a large extent, depends on how the Colombian players go about their business. If Pekerman elects to play it safe without pushing forward, much like in the games against Australia and Egypt, then Japan has a perfect realistic chance at getting a favorable result. His team has lost the element of surprise, so opponents will be prepared for what’s to come. I really like the make-up of The Samurai Blue. However, the lack of continuity under a new coach bothers me and sways me towards South America. Having said that, it won’t be a straightforward win as many people expect it’ll be.
