Japan vs. Spain: Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

The men's football squad from Japan, which has maintained an undefeated record at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, is gearing up for a quarterfinal showdown with Spain at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon on Friday.

With nine points out of a possible nine, Go Oiwa's men dominated Group D, while La Roja had to settle for second place in Group C, behind Egypt.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

In Group D, Japan was head and shoulders above Paraguay, Mali, and Israel, continuing its impressive record from before the event. It was one of just two teams to win all three of its group matches, the other being hosts France.

Oiwa's team was just as efficient as Thierry Henry's in their first encounter, thrashing Paraguay 5-0 to get the ball rolling. They scored seven goals themselves and let no goals in.

Japan's subsequent wins against Israel and Mali were far from decisive. In both cases, Oiwa's team needed extra time to score the winning goal. On July 27, Rihito Yamamoto was the hero as Japan defeated the African country.

The following week, Japan came within a hair's breadth of losing their perfect record against Israel. However, substitute Mao Hosoya scored in the 92nd minute to save the four-time tournament quarterfinalists, giving them seven wins from eight games.

Japan's greatest outcomes in men's football so far have been finishing in fourth place in the London 2012 Olympics and at their home tournament, Tokyo 2020, but Oiwa's side has been doing so well lately that a medal is definitely within reach.

Spanish hopes of advancing to the next round were dashed on matchday three of Group C, as they had already dispatched Uzbekistan and the Dominican Republic, setting up a showdown with Egypt for first place in the standings.

Despite Santi Denia's best efforts, Ibrahim Adel's genius proved too much for La Roja, who had a mountain to climb before they were even halfway there, courtesy of an injury-time goal by Samu Omorodion.

Egypt stunned the apple cart with that 2-1 victory and jumped ahead of Spain by one point, relegating La Roja to second place; however, the Atletico Madrid attacker's effort was only a consolation for Denia's side.

However, recent history favors Spain in head-to-head matches versus Japan, and the 1992 winners advanced to the gold medal match at the Sydney 2000 Games despite coming second in their group.

Even though Spain lost to Japan in the semifinals in 2012—a match in which David de Gea and Juan Mata were among the famous players—Marco Asensio scored the game-winning goal in extra time to give La Roja a thrilling 1-0 victory in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan x Spain Team News.

After scoring in Japan's first two matches, Yamamoto didn't make it beyond halftime on matchday three, so the team's victory against Israel was a wake-up call for him.

Even if Hosoya has also entered the hat for the quarterfinal, Oiwa should give the armband to the 22-year-old again as there is no indication that he is carrying any kind of ailment.

Oiwa should maintain a winning formula until Ryotaro Araki, thanks to his heroics in Israel, is rewarded; in that case, Hosoya will likely take his place.

Red Devils head coach Denia was without youngster Pau Cubarsi for the match against Japan due to the center-back's suspension after picking up two yellow cards in two games.

Denia should return to a full-strength XI after a few changes for the Egypt loss, but Cubarsi is back now, rested and prepared for the quarterfinal.

In addition to Arnau Tenas replacing Alejandro Iturbe in goal, Alex Baena, Fermin Lopez, and Eric Garcia are among the notable names expected to return for the first knockout game.

Our predictions

Spain to win @2.00 on Sky247.ng

Denia made many substitutions after securing a spot in the quarterfinals; thus, Spain's unexpected defeat against Egypt should be seen in context.

Despite Japan's flawless defensive record, Denia's rested heavy hitters should make an impression on the other side and send La Roja tumbling into the semifinals.

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