World Cup Forensics: Colombia vs Japan

Colombia and Japan headline day 6 of the World Cup, and kick off a very interesting Group H on Tuesday night. Both teams will want to get off to a good start and get three points to start their campaigns.

The Colombians come in amidst a mixed preparation. After beating France 3-2, they've logged scoreless draws against Australia and Egypt. Japan defeated Paraguay 4-2 last time out, but before that were winless in their previous 4 games in 2018.

Colombia will rely heavily on David Ospina in goals and young star Davinson Sanchez in defence, whilst they are mostly built around a star-studded attack. James Rodríguez leads the group alongside Falcao, with Juan Cuadrado and Carlos Bacca ably supporting them.

Last time these two teams met in the 2014 World Cup Japan were thrashed 4-1, and will be keen to make amends. However, they've never won a game in a World Cup hosted on the European continent and will be up against it.

The experienced trio of Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Okazaki will spearhead the Japanese attack, whilst Maya Yoshida anchors a questionable defence.

Colombia's attack will give them plenty of trouble and Japan look like a team set to struggle through a challenging Group H. Senegal and Poland also have talented attacks that will be unrelenting against them.

Radamel Falcao might be 32 now but he's still a quality option for the Colombian playmakers to create for, and Colombia's attack looks set to be the difference here.

The Stats Insider Model is leaning towards a Colombia win, with them winning to nil a potential bet if the both teams to score market is an additional indicator.

Expect a Colombian onslaught to open Group H.

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