Japan vs Sweden – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

Japan and Sweden meet at Dallas Stadium tonight, fighting for a place in the World Cup knockout rounds.

The Samurai Blue sit in pole position in Group F after collecting four points from their opening games. Meanwhile, the Scandinavians must recover quickly from a bruising defeat against the Netherlands to save their tournament hopes. A draw guarantees Japan’s progression, while Sweden need maximum points to secure qualification tonight.

Japan vs Sweden – Match preview and team news

Team news

Japan

Takefusa Kubo remains a major doubt for this crucial encounter due to a lingering knee injury. The Real Sociedad attacker sustained the issue during their draw against the Netherlands.

Shuto Machino has also struggled with illness and is yet to feature on the pitch. In his absence, Hajime Moriyasu will likely retain the rest of his high-flying starting eleven tonight.

Sweden

Graham Potter faces tough personnel decisions following their defensive collapse against the clinical Dutch side. Anthony Elanga could earn a starting role at right wing-back after scoring a fine consolation goal.

Youngster Lucas Bergvall pushes hard to replace Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren to provide extra defensive steel. Star attackers Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak will continue their blooming partnership up front.

Form

Japan

Japan have excelled throughout the group stage by executing a flawless, aggressive high-pressing system. They followed up a resilient draw against the Netherlands by completely dismantling Tunisia in their previous fixture.

Moriyasu has guided his organised squad to a magnificent nine-match unbeaten streak across all competitions. Strikingly, they became the first Asian side to score four goals in a single World Cup match.

Sweden

Sweden opened their campaign beautifully before suffering a painful 5-1 defeat against the dominant Netherlands. That heavy loss thoroughly exposed severe defensive vulnerabilities within Potter’s preferred tactical shape.

However, their elite frontline possesses more than enough quality to trouble any defensive line tonight. Gyökeres and Isak have shown excellent chemistry and represent their main hope of causing an upset.

Predicted lineups

Japan predicted XI: Z. Suzuki; Tomiyasu, Itakura, H. Itō; Dōan, Sano, Tanaka, Nakamura; Itō, Kamada; Ueda

Sweden predicted XI: Nordfeldt; Lagerbielke, Hien, Lindelöf; Elanga, Bergvall, Karlström, Ayari, Gudmundsson; Gyökeres, Isak

How to watch Japan vs Sweden?

The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website.

Read more – Iconic Performances: Fabio ‘The Berlin Wall’ Cannavaro in the 2006 World Cup semi-final

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