Japan is set to take on Turkey in an international friendly match at the Cegeka Arena in Genk on Tuesday evening.
This will be only the second time these two countries face each other, with their last encounter being in the round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup, where Turkey emerged as 1-0 winners.
Preview:
Heading into Tuesday’s match, Japan is in fantastic form, having won their last three matches. Their most recent victory was an impressive 4-1 triumph against Germany, where they displayed their prowess.
Junya Ito opened the scoring just 11 minutes into the game, followed by goals from Ayase Ueda, Takuma Asano, and Ao Tanaka.
Hajime Moriyasu’s side had previously defeated Germany 2-1 in the 2022 World Cup. Despite falling short in the round of 16 against Croatia, Japan’s World Cup campaign showcased many positives, and they have carried their good form into recent friendly matches.
On the other hand, Turkey has been enjoying a successful run, winning five, drawing one, and losing one of their last seven games.
Currently leading Group D, they are three points ahead of Croatia and Armenia, although they have played more games than other teams in their group.
Stefan Kuntz’s side secured a point against Armenia in their last match with Bertug Yildirim’s 88th-minute equalizer.
After missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup, Turkey aims to gather momentum for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers, starting with a challenging away game against Croatia in October.
Team News:
After an impressive display against Germany, Moriyasu is unlikely to make significant changes to the Japanese squad.
Takefusa Kubo, who assisted two goals as a substitute in the last match, could replace Ito at right-wing. Tanaka and Asano, both scorers against Germany, may also be in line for starting positions.
Considering Turkey’s less-than-stellar performance against Armenia, Kuntz might make a few adjustments to his squad.
Yildirim could replace Baris Yilmaz in the attack, while Halil Dervisoglu’s noteworthy performance as a substitute last time out presents Kuntz with a selection dilemma in the attacking department.
Probable Starting Lineups:
Japan:
- Osako
- Tomiyasu
- Itakura
- Sugawara
- Ito
- Endo
- Tanaka
- Kubo
- Kamada
- Mitoma
- Asano
Turkey:
- Gunok
- Celik
- Demiral
- Soyuncu
- Ozkacar
- Yuksek
- Under
- Kokcu
- Calhanoglu
- Akturkoglu
- Yildirim
Prediction:
We anticipate a tightly contested match between Japan and Turkey. Japan’s impressive performance in their recent matches, including a remarkable 4-1 victory against Germany, suggests they have the potential to come out on top.
However, Turkey’s solid run of form cannot be disregarded. In the end, we predict a narrow 1-0 victory for Japan.