JAPAN VS SPAIN HEAD TO HEAD POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS | WORLD CUP 2022 QATAR

JAPAN VS SPAIN HEAD TO HEAD POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUPS | WORLD CUP 2022 QATAR

Japan vs Spain predicted starting lineups

Japan vs Spain
FIFA World Cup
Date: 1 December 2022, Thursday
Kick-off at 19:00 UK / 20:00 CET
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium (Al Rayyan).

Subscribe bro 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvT5kR15ShCjOT57gav0emw

Japan missed their chance on Sunday against Costa Rica
Spain looked great in both matches so far in the tournament
Ferran Torres completed a brace on the opening day and is on penalties when Morata is not on the pitch
The Samurai Blue dropped the ball in Gameweek 2
Japan missed a huge chance to advance to the knockout phase of the 2022 World Cup by losing to Costa Rica 0-1 on Sunday.

It was a shocking result for Hajime Moriyasu’s men who made one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by beating Germany 2-1 on the opening day.

The Samurai Blue have thus drastically halted their push for the last 16 round as they will likely need to beat Spain on the final day to advance (assuming Germany beat Costa Rica by quite a margin in the other game in the group).

Japan were the better side on the pitch against Los Ticos on Sunday but they just lacked the cutting edge in the final third.

Head coach Moriyasu will now find it very hard to stun the Spaniards who are certainly one of the toughest teams to break down in the whole tournament.

Spain are very hard to break down under Enrique
Spain need a draw to lock the top spot in the group (again, assuming Germany beat Los Ticos).

Nevertheless, they are by all means big favorites to claim all three on Thursday evening.

La Furia Roja were the most impressive of all four teams in this group. They bagged seven unanswered goals in the one-way street against Costa Rica on the opening day before playing an evenly-matched contest in a 1-1 stalemate against the Germans on Sunday.

Luis Enrique is arguably one of the best managers at the World Cup. He has done great things with this Spain team without having a genuine superstar in the squad.

Spain do not allow much space for their rivals under Enrique and they have one of the most talented midfield groups in the world.

Team News

Japan defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Hiroki Sakai are both doubtful with hamstring injuries, while midfielder Wataru Endo, who has been absent from first-team training, could also miss out due to a knee problem.

Captain Maya Yoshida is poised to earn his 125th international cap, and the Schalke 04 defender is set to be joined in the back four by Miki Yamane, Ko Itakura and Yuto Nagatomo – the latter of whom has 140 caps to his name.

Either Ao Tanaka or Leganes’ Gaku Shibasaki is set to replace Endo in centre-midfield, while Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano – who both scored in the shock win over Germany – will be hoping to start on the flanks, although Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo will also be pushing for a starting berth.

Eintracht Frankfurt playmaker Daichi Kamada is expected to continue in the number 10 role in behind either Daizen Maeda or Ayase Ueda.

As for Spain, 18-year-old midfielder Gavi has been absent from training due to a minor injury and is a doubt for Thursday’s contest.

In addition, captain Sergio Busquets – who is one booking away from a suspension – is set to be rested, so there could be two midfield spots up for grabs, with Koke, Carlos Soler and Marcos Llorente all hoping to start their first game in Qatar.

However, Manchester City’s Rodri could move up from centre-back to replace Busquets in the deep-lying midfield role, with either Pau Torres or Eric Garcia slotting into the heart of the defence alongside Aymeric Laporte.

Morata will be pushing to start in attack after scoring two goals in as many substitute appearances, and he could join Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo in the front three, with Marco Asensio potentially dropping to the substitutes’ bench.

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

#japan #spain #japanvsspain #japanvsspainheadtohead #japanvsspainresults #japanvsspainlivematch #japanvsspainlineups #japanvsspainpredictedlineups #japanlineup #japanpredictedlineup #spainlineup #spainpredictedlineup #worldcup #worldcup2022 #worldcupqatar