Japan v Paraguay Betting Preview

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Written by James Beckett Friday, 25 June 2010 18:07

In one of the less glamorous sounding last 16 betting matches, Japan take on Paraguay looking to continue their most successful tournament on foreign soil in their history, while Paraguay will be out to extend their unbeaten record so far in South Africa, and make it to the quarter finals for the first time.

Before the tournament, Japan had never won a World Cup finals game abroad but after Keisuke Honda's goal against Cameroon in their opening game, the Japanese haven't looked back. They narrowly lost to Holland in their second game, before a convincing 3-1 win over Denmark booked their place in the last 16.

Honda starred in the win over the Danes scoring a stunning freekick, and he will be key to any success against Paraguay. The CSKA Moscow midfielder is earning rave reviews so far in South Africa, and it would be surprising if he is still playing in Russia come the end of the summer transfer window.

Yasuhito Endo also scored a superb free-kick against Denmark before substitute Shinji Okazaki scored late on to seal their place in the last 16. Okazaki replaced midfielder Daisuke Matsui on Thursday but with the Japanese likely to stick to a 4-5-1 formation he will be looking to replace striker Yoshito Okubo in the starting line up.

Okubo is yet to score so far in South Africa, and this will be a worry for coach Takeshi Okada, who won't want to rely on his midfielders throughout the tournament, but elsewhere Okada does have a full squad to chose from.

Odds courtesy of Betfair:

Paraguay:2.22

Japan: 3.95

Draw: 3.25

Prediction

Paraguay 2-0 Japan

Two first half goals from Nelson Valdez and Roque Santa Cruz seal a fairly workmen like victory for the South Americans

The same can't be said for Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino who won't be able to call upon midfielder Victor Caceres who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in the draw against New Zealand. Carlos Bonet could be set to come in to the side for Caceres

Martino would have been disappointed with the result against the Kiwis, and in truth Paraguay were far from at their best, but it was good for Paraguay to see striker Roque Santa Cruz get a second game under his belt.

Santa Cruz is still a key man in the Paraguay side, but with the likes of Oscar Cardozo and Nelson Valdez coming through, Martino certinaly has options up front. Elsewhere new Sunderland signing Cristian Riveros will be hoping to build on an impressive tournament so far.

This game could go either way, but it would appear that Paraguay have that little bit more quality in the key areas of the side, and it is debatable whether the Japanese defenders will be able to keep the talent of the Paraguayan strikers at bay all game. You can't help but think that despite a very successful tournament so far for Japan, this might just be one hashi too far.