On June 18, at 00:00, the Japanese national meets the Chilean team in the first round of the Copa America 2019 groups. Without Yoshida and Inui, the Asians hope to impress again after they were on the brink of eliminating Belgium at the World Championship in 2018.
Even though Chile has Bravo, Davila, Mena, Reyes, Sierralta and Alexis Sanchez, the South Americans are favorites, but the value is definitely a good result for the Nippon. The two teams are part of group C, alongside Ecuador and Uruguay, and the fight for qualifying is very balanced. It is not excluded that we witness a surprise on Morumbi in Sao Paulo, but we will rather choose a goal prediction.
Before the failure of the 2019 Asian Cup final against the Qatar (1-3), the Japanese had a series of 11 consecutive no-defeats. In the last three appearances before the Copa America tournament, the Asians have escaped without a goal, and nine of Japan’s 12 last successes have been won without a goal. The defensive is the strong point of the “samurai,” who will have to successfully block the decisive players of the Chileans.
Interestingly, Japan faced the Chileans in the last two direct games, in which the Nippons escaped unbeaten. Chile is a reactive team with an impressive collective spirit and vast experience at the final tournaments, which makes us believe that red-blue will have the initiative. Japan’s defensive might make the difference in this debut match. Before Copa America, Japan defeated Bolivia (1-0) and El Salvador (2-0), drawing white with Trinidad. Chile comes after a 2-1 with Haiti, but also a draw with the US (1-1) and a failure in Mexico.
Hajime Moriyasu trained by Kawashima, Ueda, Shibasaki, Kubo, Abe, Ito or Okazaki, who will fight hard for each ball and make their lives hard for South Americans. If the frustration is going to take place in the Chilean game, then the strength ratio will be even more balanced!
PREDICTION: Chile to win @ 1,52
