World Cup 2022

Group E, Match 43- JPN vs SPN

Preview 

The third day of Group E of the WC Qatar 2022 will take place today between Japan and Spain Live from Khalifa International Stadium, in Rayyan on Friday, with the firm intention of winning to confirm their pass to the round of 16 and, incidentally, also ensure the first place in its sector. A loss or draw would keep their classification on hold, as they would depend on what is happening at the same time in the duel between Costa Rica and Germany.

The Japanese team began their World Cup adventure with an important victory over four-time world champions Germany, in a duel in which they had to come from behind to come back on the scoreboard and finish with a two-for-one victory. However, in their second match they could not repeat the feat and ended up falling by a score of 1-0 against Costa Rica, thus remaining stuck with 3 points in second place.

For its part, the Spanish team began its journey through Qatari lands with a resounding win over its counterpart from Costa Rica to the sound of seven goals against nil, which immediately put them in the discussion of the favorites to lift the title. In their second game, they fought a tough battle against the German team, who risked their lives in that duel, and after great physical wear and tear, ended up equalizing by one score to reach 4 points and retain the lead in their group.

Football-wise, Japan didn't appear on the world map until before 1998, when they participated in the WC for the first time. However, the Japanese have not missed any of the other editions of the World Cup held since that date and, in Qatar 2022, they are experiencing their seventh consecutive participation.

Curiously, in their six previous editions, they have never been able to link two consecutive qualifications to the round of 16. Now, the "Samurai" have the opportunity to achieve it for the first time in their history, since, in the last edition, held in Russia in 2018, they also managed to advance to the second round after finishing second in their group.

As statistical data, Japan will be looking for its fourth victory in history against a European team in a WC, since of its 11 matches played against teams from the old continent, it already managed to defeat Russia in Korea-Japan 2002, Denmark in 2010, and to Germany in this contest.

The Spanish team only has one thing in mind: finish the group stage with one more victory to finish as leaders of sector E and, incidentally, reaffirm their status as favorites to lift the title on December 18. After starting with an impressive display against the Costa Rican team, and having the German team on the ropes, now they will try to give one more blow of authority by beating the Japanese.

The real challenge for Luis Enrique and his side will be not to trust themselves and go out looking for the result because a blink can be catastrophic against some Japanese who have already shown Germany what they are capable of doing if the opportunity presents itself. And it is that a Spanish defeat would mean falling to second place in the group and, most likely, having to face off against the world runner-up, Croatia, in the round of 16.

The relevant statistical data for this match is that, if Spain manages to score two or more goals, it will be breaking its record of goals scored in the first phase, which is nine goals, achieved in Korea-Japan 2002, when it scored 3 goals in each of their matches against Slovenia, Paraguay, and South Africa.

Match Details

Match: Group E, Match 43: JPN vs SPN, World Cup 2022

Date: 02 December 2022

Time: 12:30 AM  

Venue:  Khalifa International Stadium

Key Players

JPN: Takumi Minamino was the great Japanese revulsive in that match that they came back against the German team since his entry gave the Japanese attack more dynamic. The 27-year-old striker who plays for Monaco in France is one of the darlings of the Japanese fans and on whom a large part of their hopes rests to advance to the next round. It's not for nothing that he wears the number 10 jersey of his team, so if things don't go well in the game for Japan, Minamino will have to take responsibility for putting the team on his shoulder.

SPN: Ferrán Torres scored a double against Costa Rica on the opening day of group E in this WC. The presence of the 22-year-old attacker who plays for Barca in Luis Enrique's final call-up was severely criticized by some of the fans, who thought that it was only due to his courtship with the daughter of the Spanish coach. For this reason, the Valencian will have to respond on the field with goals to show that he has the merits to be the starting center forward for Furia Roja, he just has to be careful not to celebrate by putting his thumb in his mouth the next time he scores.

Possible Starting XIs

JPN: Gonda, Yamane, Yoshida, Itakura, H Ito, Endo, Morita, J Ito, Mitoma, Minamino, Asano

SPN: Simon, Carvajal, Rodri, Laporte, Jordi Alba, Gavi, Busquets, Pedri, Torres, Olmo, Morata

Match Prediction: 

It is going to be a very good battle between the Asian side Japan and the European side Spain and it seems like Spain will be having an upper hand in this match after defeating Costa Rica by 7-0 and sharing a point with Germany in their last fixture. Meanwhile, Japan also defeated Germany in their opening encounter and will be hoping to do the same tonight against Spain to secure their berth for the next round. We say Spain 2-0 Japan.

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