Japan vs Colombia 22/03/19

22 March 2019

An international friendly clash between Japan and Colombia that will take place at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama will see the visitors trying to settle the score with the Asian side following a disappointing 2-1 loss at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

After exiting the final tournament in the round of 16, the Samurai Blue have enjoyed a purple patch that has seen them win ten of 11 games in the post-World Cup period (W10, D1). During that run, Hajime Moriyasu’s men have met two CONMEBOL-based teams. They outplayed Uruguay in a 4-3 thriller back in October before playing out a 1-1 draw with Venezuela. Interestingly, three of Japan’s last five victories have ended with the identical 1-0 scoreline. However, the hosts go into this meeting off the back of a frustrating 3-1 defeat to Qatar that has brought their seven-game winning streak to an end. Also, Moriyasu’s players have conceded just one goal in five games prior to their encounter with Qatar.

On the other hand, the visitors have racked up a four-game unbeaten run after concluding their World Cup journey in the round of 16 (W3, D1). Apart from a goalless draw with Argentina, all three of Los Cafeteros’s remaining post-World Cup games have produced over 2.5 goals, with Colombia scoring 3+ match goals in two. But, Carlos Queiroz’s men have failed to keep a clean sheet in all three of their triumphs in that period although allowing over 1.5 goals per match only once. Another encouraging fact for La Tricolor is that they are unbeaten in six consecutive road clashes (W4, D2) having scored 2+ match goals in each of their triumphs in that period.