Japanese striker Takuma Asano. (Photo : Getty Images)
Tournament favorites Japan and Colombia meet each other in the second round of Group B competitions in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics men's football event at the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus on August 7, Sunday.
The two teams are coming off disappointing tournament-openers and both would certainly want to bounce back in this match against each other.
Japan succumbed to the first upset loss of the competitions as they were edged by lowly squad Nigeria in a high-scoring 4-5 defeat at the same venue on Thursday, as per Goal.
Head coach Makoto Teguramori was not able to stop the onslaught of Nigeria striker Oghenekaro Etebo, who unleashed four goals at the 10th, 42nd, 51st, and 66th minutes after teammate Aminu Umar netted the opening goal right at the sixth.
The Japanese got their goals from four different players, namely Shinzo Koroki at the ninth via a penalty kick, Takumi Minamino at the 12th, Takuma Asano at the 70th, and Mushashi Suzuki in injury time to complete their own four-goal haul.
While both squads were fluid on offense, what obviously lacked were their defense, particularly Samurai Blue who were repeatedly conquered by Etebo's attacks. The Dream Team were already leading 5-2 when Asano and Suzuki scored their consolation goals.
Meanwhile, powerhouse Colombia was held to a 2-2 draw by a stubborn Swedish XI also in Manaus on Thursday, via NBC Olympics.
Veteran forward Teofilo Gutierrez opened the scoring at the 17th minute off an assist from forward Dorlan Pabon, but the Swedes were able to equalize two minutes before halftime with a strike from Mikael Ishak.
The Blue-Yellows then took the lead in the second half via an individual move from team captain Astrit Ajdarevic.
Head coach Carlos Restrepo's boys were able to avoid an upset loss, though, as they leveled the game again at the 75th with Pabon's successful penalty kick.
The Asian champions are one of the favorites to reach the quarterfinals and they have to find their form against the Colombians in this match. However, Colombia is the better squad on paper and pundits have them finishing at least in the semifinals this summer.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 victory for Japan.
Japan starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Kushibiki; Muroya, Shiotani, Ueda, Fujiharu; Endo; Minamino, Oshima, Harakawa, Nakajima; Koroki
Colombia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Bonilla; Palacios, Balanta, Tesillo, Machado; Barrios, Perez; Roa, Gutierrez, Pabon; Borja
