Japanese midfielder Takumi Minamino (R) competes for the ball against Colombia's Wilmar Barrios. (Photo : Getty Images)
With only a point each after two rounds of Group B competitions in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics men's football tournament, Japan (0-1-1, 1 point) and Sweden (0-1-1, 1 point) will be battling each other to stave off elimination. Their match is set at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador this Wednesday, August 10.
Even if one of them does get the victory, the winner would have to hope that Colombia loses to or draws with Nigeria for them to have a chance of advancing in the quarterfinals set on Saturday.
Japan, who together with Colombia was one of the teams favored to move to the last eight of this summer's Games, settled to a 2-2 draw with Los Cafeteros at the Arena da Amazônia in Manaus on Sunday to finally gain a point after losing their opener to Nigeria, the Evening Standard reported.
After a goalless first half, things heated up in the second as Colombia scored two quick goals at the 59th and 65th minutes with a strike from Colombian captain Teofilo Gutierrez and an own goal from Japanese defender Hiroki Fujiharu respectively, giving Los Cafeteros a 2-0 lead.
However, head coach Makoto Teguramori's boys were able to fight back and equalize the match with their own two-goal attack courtesy of goals from striker Takuma Asano and winger Shoya Nakajima at the 67th and 74th minutes off assists from Takumi Minamino and Shinzo Koroki respectively.
Meanwhile, Sweden succumbed to a 0-1 upset over dark horse team Nigeria at the same arena also on Sunday to keep them at the bottom of the group standings with the Japanese, via NBC Olympics.
Nigerian forward Umar Sadiq netted the lone goal of the match five minutes before halftime, which proved to be the winner for the underdog squad.
This match is a virtual must-win for both Japan and Sweden as a loss will automatically eliminate them from the competitions while a tie will somewhat give them a chance to advance if Colombia loses to Nigeria in the matchday's other fixture.
The predicted result is a 1-0 victory for Japan if not a draw to eventually seal both team's fate in the tournament.
Japan starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Nakamura; Muroya, Shiotani, Ueda, Fujiharu; Yajima, Endo, Ideguchi, Nakajima; Asano, Koroki
Sweden starting lineup (4-4-1-1 formation): Linde; Lundqvist, Milosevic, Nilsson, Konate; Tibbling, Fransson, Khalili, Quaison; Ajdarevic, Ishak
