We have reached the last eight of the men’s football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics. On Saturday, host nation Japan face New Zealand in the first quarter-final.
New Zealand booked their place in the knockout phase with a second-place finish in Group, ending up two points behind South Korea.
Meanwhile, Japan qualified for the quarter-finals by finish three points clear of second-place Mexico the top of Group A.
The host nation won all three of their group matches, scoring a combined total of seven goals while only conceding once.
Japan kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 victory over South Africa before edging out Mexico 2-1 in their second outing.
Last time out, the Japanese thrashed France 4-0 to maintain their 100% record heading into the knockout phase.
Takefusa Kubo – Real Madrid’s 20-year-old prodigy – has scored a goal in each of Japan’s three matches at the Tokyo Olympics.
Although Japan have kept two clean sheets in their opening three games, Kubo makes them a serious threat at the other end of the pitch, too.
New Zealand, on the other hand, started their Olympic journey with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Matchday 1.
The Kiwis then suffered a 3-2 defeat to Honduras before booked their spot in the last eight with a goalless draw against Romania.
New Zealand finished level with third-place Romania on four points in Group B but advanced thanks to their superior goal difference.
If the Kiwis want to reach the latter stages of the tournament, they will need to start scoring more goals.
They have only found the back of the net three times in Tokyo, with Burnley striker Chris Wood bagging two of his country’s three goals.
Head-to-head: This will be the very first meeting between Japan and New Zealand at the Olympic Games, meaning we have now previous result to analyze for this fixture.
Team news: It goes without saying that Kubo is Japan’s danger. PSV midfielder Ritsu Doan is also a threat, having chalked up one goal and one assist in Tokyo.
New Zealand will be without key defenders Winston Reid and Michael Boxall on Saturday, with the pair ruled out through injury.
Although New Zealand have picked up a couple of decent results in Tokyo, there is no denying that Japan have been far stronger on home soil.
Forebet predicts that Japan will keep a clean sheet on their way to beating the Kiwis on Saturday, with the host nation advancing to the semi-finals.
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