Japan – Greece

Japan and Greece will be very interested in the Colombia – Ivory Coast result, but one thing is for sure: neither team can afford to lose. Depending on what happens in the other match of the group, a draw might satisfy Greece . Both Japan and Greece have zero points to show for after the first round.

Today`s odds-on favorites, Japan looked on track to record a fantastic result against Ivory Coast, but the Asian side suffered a heavy blow conceding two goals in 1 minute after one our of play and never quite recovered. It was the first defeat for Japan after 5 consecutive wins, this is a very good team that qualified en-fanfare to the World Cup and had a great preparation as well. Japan’s Achilles heel is in defense, but they make up for it with a very speedy and efficient attacking setup.

Greece is the definition of tactical consistency and defensive discipline. An organized team, conceding very few goals and being very hard to beat, but even so they were destroyed by an unleashed Colombia side 3-0 in the first match. The Greeks were very poor in that match, clearly outplayed, and if they don`t improve on that performance, the World Cup will be over for them soon. I expected Greece to do some damage in this group, I have never underestimated this team, but apparently the level of opposition might just be too high for them, and they can`t rely on the home court advantage – which is always a huge asset for this side.

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Team news & lineups

Hasebe is a doubt for Japan but he should play, while Greece has no squad problems.

Japan: Kawashima – Uchida, Yoshida, Morishige, Nagatomo – Hasebe, Yamaguchi – Okazaki, Honda, Kagawa – Osako.

Greece: Karnezis – Maniatis, Manolas, Sokratis, Kone – Torosidis, Cholevas – Salpingidis,  Gekas, Samaras – Mitroglou.

Japan has to play Colombia in the next match, so no matter what the result in the other game of the group will be today, I can’t see the Asians satisfied with a draw. They need to win this, as opposed to Greece, who might fancy a draw and hope to beat Ivory Coast in the last round. Japan is the slightly better team, has more star power and is in excellent form. I expect the offensive trio of Okazaki, Honda and Kagawa to be able to break down Greece’s crowded defense, while the Europeans do not look dangerous up front at all, so they might even go scoreless. Japan just looks to be the more stable and consistent side, not only in this World Cup, but for a couple of months already. My tip is Japan to win, but I will secure the bet with a -0,25 asian handicap. Prediction: Japan – Greece 2-0.

Pick: Japan (-0,25 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.88 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.04
Event date: 19 June