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Confident Colombia looks to take off
Boosted by 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao, a confident Colombia will be looking to demolish low-ranked Japan on Tuesday before moving on to tougher Group H rivals Poland and Senegal.
By
migrator
migrator
Moscow
The Andean nation is ranked 16th to Japan’s 61st, and history is on its side too - Colombia beat the “Blue Samurais” 4-1 in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup.
Yellow-shirted Colombia definitely conquered fans in Brazil four years ago with scintillating counter-attacking style and salsa-infused goal celebrations which propelled it to quarter-finals, its best result ever.
But it went on to have an uninspiring World Cup qualifying campaign for Russia. It scored just 21 goals during the gruelling two-year, 18-match South American qualifiers and limped over the line with three points from its last four games to claim fourth spot. The squad led by Argentine coach Jose Pekerman is vowing to boost its attacking prowess in the hard-to-call Group H and prove that its run in Brazil was not just a one-off.
“We have to take the initiative. We’re a team that’s characterized itself for that. We need to have confidence to go up front. But we also can’t lose defensive strength,” midfielder Abel Aguilar said on Friday. Fresh from losing several friendly matches since qualifying for the World Cup, Japan is nervous at the prospect of facing AS Monaco’s Falcao and Rodriguez — on loan from Real Madrid at Bayern Munich.
Japan head coach Akira Nishino, a former international midfielder who took over in April, said last month that beating Colombia would be a “small miracle.” Nishino has named an experienced World Cup team - including three players with more than 100 caps — Yuto Nagatomo, Shinji Okazaki and captain Makoto Hasebe.
“The quality of the Colombian team has gone up, and they have height and athleticism,” said Fortuna Duesseldorf’s Takashi Usami. “We have to adjust the quality of our ball delivery and the recipient’s timing to meet the ball.”
- Colombia’s James Rodriguez was top scorer at the 2014 World Cup and AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to a ligament injury.
- Colombia did just enough to secure fourth spot in the South American qualifying group but it scored only 21 goals.
- Japan is on its sixth World Cup appearance, having made its debut at the 1998 tournament in France.
- Japan head coach Akira Nishino named an experienced final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup. Eleven of the selected players featured at the last World Cup in Brazil.
- Previous meetings: Colombia crushed Japan 4-1 in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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