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The last group stage match today will be played by the already qualified world champions Brazil - their opponents will be Japan, who currently have 1 point in their account, with only theoretical hopes left after the group stage.
In their F group matches, Japan lost 1-3 to Australia and played a 0-0 draw with Croatia. Brazil won two tough victories in the first two rounds - defeating Croatia 1-0 and Australia 2-0.
Group F, Japan-Brazil Location: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund Time: 22:00 Lithuanian time Referee: Eric Poulat (France)
The South American representatives have already secured their place in the next stage of the competition and the top spot in the group. Meanwhile, Japan still has not lost hope of fighting for the second place, but these are only theoretical possibilities, as the Japanese not only need to defeat their opponents by at least two goals, but also hope that Australia will not beat Croatia.
Interestingly, the Japanese national team is coached by the former famous Brazilian footballer Zico, who will have his first encounter with his compatriots. Before this match, Zico was not satisfied with the performance of his players in attack and the team's productivity (1 goal in 2 matches), so in Japan's starting lineup we may see Keiji Tamada replacing Atsushi Yanagisawa. In an interview, Japan's national team strategist said he is optimistic and believes that his team can defeat the Brazilians.
There were also optimistic moods within the Brazilian team: before the match, the main striker of the team, Ronaldo, said that he hopes to finally score a goal. He expressed hope that the hard work during training will finally bear fruit. It is likely that the Brazilian coach will save some key players in this match, who would miss the quarterfinals if they received a yellow card today. These players are: Emerson, Robinho, Cafu, and Ronaldo. However, Brazil's national team strategist Carlos Alberto Parreira did not reveal what changes await in the starting lineup.
Previous encounters So far, Brazil and Japan have played 7 times: Brazil won 5 times, while 2 matches ended in a draw.
Predicted lineups Japan: Kawaguchi, Kaji, Nakazawa, Tsuboi, Alex, Ogasawara, Nakata, Inamoto, Nakamura, Takahara, Tamada. Brazil: Dida, Cafu, Lucio, Juan, Roberto Carlos, Emerson, Ze Roberto, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano.
