A very unexpected match, in terms of the teams that will participate in it. Paraguay was expected to finish second in their group next to Italy perhaps, but instead the team was able to top the group. Japan wasn’t expected to qualify at all next to Holland and Denmark, but after a remarkable win against Denmark they found their way to the R16.
Paraguay did extremely well this year. After leading on Italy in the first half, they let the victory slip away after they got equalized late in the game. Against Slovakia, Paraguay had no trouble and logically beat them 2:0.
Their last game was supposed to be the easiest against New Zealand, but they didn’t manage to score and the game ended 0:0. Luckily at this very moment Italy was loosing against Slovakia, so that didn’t really matter.
Japan on the other hand impressed with their game. Considered for one of the outsiders in the group, they were able to “sting” Cameroon with 1:0, and lost to the leader Netherlands with the same score, but they played well.
Last and final game was the direct battle for the 2nd place in the group between them and Denmark. After two fast goals from free kicks, Japan was leading with 2:0 and it was all over. The final score was 3:1 and Japan advanced.
What to expect from this game?
Paraguay will go out with their typical formation 4-3-3 including the experienced Roque Santa Cruz in attack , as well as Borussia Dortmund duo Lucas Barrios and Nelson Valdez.
Japan will bring out their own “weapon” Keisuke Honda, who already scored 2 goals in 3 games.
The Betting Verdict?
Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.72 (Betfair.com): In the spirit of the R16 where every game but one ended Over 2.5 Goals seems like most teams prefer to start up with an offensive formation and go for the goals, instead of defending and waiting for counter attacks.
Both Teams To Score @ 2.22 (Betfair.com): Again, all game but the one last night have ended with both teams scoring. Why this happened last night might be cause of the class difference between the two teams. However when the opponents are almost as equal, it’s very likely for both teams to be able to score.
Recommended Bookmakers:
[ad#Bookmakers Bar]
