Japan v Mexico
The two sides meet in the Confederations cup at Estadio Governador to decided third position in Group A. Both sides have lost their opening games however Japan scored 3 goals against a good Italian team and were unlucky not to get something out of the match after hitting the woodwork 3 times however neither can catch Brazil and Italy after they won their opening games. Japan can be forgiven for their poor performance against Brazil in the opening match having played a world cup qualifier a few days before flying to Brazil and the jet lag clearly affected them in the second half. Generally Japan is very strong in defense and Mexico have failed to score in 6 of their last 10 match.
Japan did really well to win the 2011 Asia Cup, while excellent performances in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers saw them secure their berth at the tournament finals before anyone else.
Mexico have won only 1 games in their last 11 in all competitions in a run that included some very weak South American opposition. While Japan have only won 5 from their last 11 their opposition has been of a stronger calibre and Japans performances have been of a higher quality and they have a battling team mentality against a Mexican team that rely too heavily on Manchester United's Javier Hernandez whose style of play does not adapt well to Mexico's deep lying counter attacking style and in this competition he has had to drop back to get the ball which negates his effective goal poaching style in the opposition box.
I expect this to happen again as Japan are a very energetic team and will push Mexico back with their speed and top quality ball control.
Probable Japan starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Kawashima – Uchida, Konno, Yoshida, Nagatomo – Endo, Hosogai – Okazaki, Honda, Kagawa – Maeda.
Probable Mexico starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Corona – Mier, Rodriguez, Moreno, Salcido – Torrado, Herrera – Barrera, Dos Santos, Guardado – Hernandez.
International Confederations Cup - Japan v Mexico - Japan To Win 'Draw No Bet' - 1.91 BetVictor / Coral / William Hill
Stake: £180
