Japan vs Panama Predictions

Following decent World Cup performances, Japan and Panama have played one International Friendly match each in September and on Friday the Central American’s make the trip to Niigata for another big test against Maya Yoshida and co. The hosts are the big favourites to win, but with some very experienced players missing, this game could be much closer than many expect it to be.

Japan played host to Costa Rica at the Suita City Football Stadium last month, where without Honda, Kawashima, Hasebe, Kagawa, and Okazaki still managed to run out convincing 3-0 winners. Defender Sasaki opened the scoring on his international debut at the age of 29, and that goal proved enough to separate the two teams at the half time interval.

Costa Rica made three changes at the break, but it was Japan who scored the all important second goal of the game through Minamino in the sixty-sixth minute. Second half substitute Ito scored a third goal deep into stoppage time to make the scoreline even more convincing for the hosts, and in truth it was the least Japan deserved as they controlled the match and created numerous goal scoring opportunities.

Yuya Osako is the most experienced forward in the hosts squad with 33 caps and 8 goals for his country, while defenders Yuto Nagatomo and Maya Yoshida provide plenty of experience at the back. Masaaki Higashiguchi is likely to start in goal and earn his seventh cap, but at the age of 32 the Gamba Osaka shot stopper is hardly a long term replacement for Eiji Kawashima.

Even with the home advantage against Venezuela last month Panama were beaten 2-0 and that was with captain Torres in defence. Torres had announced his retirement from the national team following the World Cup, but backtracked on that decision to play against Venezuela last month. The Seattle Sounders defender isn’t in the current squad and it’s yet to be seen if he will pull on the Panama shirt in the future.

Second half goals from Rondón and his eventual replacement Santos saw Venezuela claim a comfortable 2-0 win in Panama, with the visitors deserving of their victory after having twice as many shots on target as their hosts. Panama are going through a transition period following the retirement of several key players that helped the country reach their first ever World Cup, and it is now up to the next generation to continue their teams progression.

We’re confident that Japan will win to nil on Friday and have backed the hosts to claim a comfortable 4-0 victory. Both teams are missing some key experienced players, but we feel Japan have a better pool of players to pick replacements from and Panama will struggle to emulate the results that earned them a place at the World Cup in Russia without a selection of the players that got them there. Japan picked up a win to nil in last months International Friendly at home to Costa Rica, while Panama have lost their last five international matches in all competitions. Panama have failed to score in four of their last six international matches and we expect them to struggle in the final third against a very organised Japanese defence on Friday.