Colombia vs Japan: World Cup 2014 Preview

Colombia and Japan play each other in Final match of Group C in World Cup 2014

Colombia and Japan have faced each other two times before this and Japan have failed to register victory in either of those matches. Colombia have won a match while the next one ended in a draw. The most recent encounter between the sides was in 2007 when the sides played a goal-less draw.

Colombia have 100% win record going into this match as they beat Greece and Ivory Coast in their previous matches. They started their World Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Greece and defeated Ivory Coast in the following match by 2-1.

Japan have not registered a single victory this term and they are in need of a victory going into this match. Japan lost the first match 2-1 to Ivory Coast after conceding two goals in space of three minutes. They played a goal-less draw against Greece in their second match.

Team News:

Shinji Kagawa did not start in the match against Greece but the coach must start with him if they are to get any positive result in the match. Yashuito Endo could play from the start after replacing Makoto Hasebe in the goal-less draw against Greece last time.

Colombia are already into the next round and could give other players a chance in  this game. However, coach Pekerman might also go for his strongest lineup to see if they can win all the games and prepare well for the next round matches.

Predicted Starting Lineup:

Japan:

Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1

Eiji Kawashima (GK): Yuto Nagatmo, Ysuyuki Konno, Maya Yoshida, Atsuto Uchida: Makoto Hasebe, Yashuito Endo: Hiroshi kiyotake, Keisuke Hinda, Shinji Kagawa: Shinji Okazaki

Colombia:

Formation: 3 – 4 – 3

David Ospina (GK); Eder Balanta, Mario Yepes, Cristian Zapata: Pablo Armero, Carlos Sanchez, Abel Aguilar, Juan Zuniga: Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Jackson Martinez, James Rodriguez