James Humphries begins with a thought: “If I have my permutations correct, Japan battering Sweden would mean Scotland are not quite out yet; but as this occurred to me I was reminded of a mate many years ago, at about six in the morning at a party, going: “If I have my permutations correct,”re just running from the comedown’.”
He continues, noting, “Japan battering Sweden would mean Scotland are not quite out yet; but as this occurred to me I was reminded of a mate many years ago, at about six in the morning at a party, going: ‘At a certain point, you’re just running from the comedown’. “‘Running from the comedown’ should incidentally be the title of the Official Authorised SFA Book about this campaign, but it bloody won’t be.”
Wouldn’t Japan need to win by four goals, or am I miscalculating?
A bit of pre-match reading shows Ecuador leading Germany 2-1 and Cote d’Ivoire ahead of Curacao 2-0.
Ecuador has secured a spot as one of the best third-place teams and will face either Mexico, Portugal, or Colombia in the knockout stage. Surprisingly, I had thought there was a possibility of them playing against England, but that seems to have been an erroneous assumption.
As the two matches in Group E draw to a close, the situation becomes dire for Scotland, with Ecuador ahead 2-1 against Germany, while Cote d’Ivoire is up 2-0 on Curacao.
Should Ecuador play England in the last 32, it promises to be an exciting matchup, as they have proven to be a formidable side.
Both teams have made three changes to their lineups. Japan introduces Yukinari Sugawara, Ayumu Seko, and the energetic Daizen Maeda, replacing Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kaishu Sano, and Junya Ito.
Sweden’s goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who allowed five goals against the Netherlands, is substituted by Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. Additionally, Elliot Stroud and Anthony Elanga come into the side for Benjamin Nygren and Jesper Karlstrom.
Japan’s lineup (3-4-2-1) features: Z Suzuki; Sugawara, Itakura, H Ito; Doan, Seko, Tanaka, Nakamura; Kamada, Maeda; Ueda.
Substitutes include Osako, Hayakawa, Taniguchi, Nagatomo, Watanabe, Tomiyasu, J Suzuki, J Ito, Y Suzuki, Sano, Machino, Goto, Ogawa, and Shiogai.
Sweden’s formation (3-4-1-2) comprises: Widell Zetterstrom; Lagerbielke, Hlen, Lindelof; Bernhardsson, Stroud, Ayari, Gudmundsson; Elanga; Gyokeres, Isak.
The substitutes are V Johansson, Nordfeldt, H Johansson, Svensson, Ekdal, Starfelt, Smith, Bergvall, Nygren, Sema, Karlstrom, Svanberg, Zeneli, Nilsson, and Ali.
Referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador will officiate this match.
Sweden has experienced quite the tumultuous tournament, boasting a 5-1 victory over Tunisia and a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands. They have become the first team since Denmark in 1986 to both score and concede five goals in separate World Cup matches. I’m not familiar with that Denmark team, but they sound intriguing.
- The winners of Group F will face Morocco in Guadalupe on Monday.
- The runners-up will encounter Brazil in Houston, also on Monday.
- If a third-placed team qualifies, they will face one of France, Norway, Germany, Mexico, or Switzerland.
While Japan has not yet officially qualified for the knockout rounds, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where they might fail. Sweden likely needs at least a draw but could advance even with a narrow loss.
Rob will be joining shortly, but in the meantime, here’s a briefing from Graham Ruthven’s daily guide regarding this Group F encounter:
Match Insights
Japan has emerged as an under-the-radar team, showcasing impressive performances in this World Cup. Hajime Moriyasu’s squad convincingly defeated Tunisia and controlled significant portions of their match against the Netherlands. They aim to use this final group game to prepare for the knockout stages.
Sweden’s strengths and weaknesses have been on full display. They made history by losing their second match by a four-goal margin after winning their first match by an identical margin. Graham Potter’s team needs to exhibit greater control on the field.
Player to watch: Alexander Isak, Sweden – The Liverpool forward has shown glimpses of his former self during this tournament and could prove to be a pivotal player if Potter can devise a system that maximizes his potential without disrupting the overall team dynamics.
