On Thursday, Khalifa International Stadium will witness one of the most-exciting football clashes between the top two teams of Group E, the summit leaders Spain and second-placed Japan. Notably, the Blue Samurai geared in after losing to Costa Rica, while La Roja shared even points with Germany after ending in a draw.
Despite displaying an illustrious performance against the 2014 World Cup Champions Germany, the Asian Nation showcased a naive game against Costa Rica, costing them defeat by 1-0. Nevertheless, they are glued to 2nd position in the group, and victory against Spain, a bit impossible though, could aid them in reaching the knockouts.
On the other hand, Spain demonstrated their potential in the tournament’s opening match, outperforming Costa Rica 7-0. Nevertheless, they slipped away a golden charm to slip into the Last 16 after the fully-skilled German outfit forced them to share 1-1 game results. Although their dubious performance versus a European rival propelled them to the top spot, they were unable to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
With their one international match in April 2001, where La Roja defeated Japan by a score of 1-0, they are confident of putting up a performance comparable to that. They also have an impressive record against Asian teams, showing that in five previous World Cup encounters with Asian opposition, they have never lost a match.
Japan possible starting lineup:
Gonda; Yamane, Itakura, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Tanaka, Morita; Doan, Kamada, Kubo; Maeda
Spain possible starting lineup:
Simon; Carvajal, P. Torres, Laporte, Alba; Koke, Rodri, Pedri; F. Torres, Morata, Olmo
