Japan – Venezuela SOCCER PICKS
Japan and Venezuela meet in Ōita Bank Dome, in a friendly match. This will be the 9th of the year for Japan, after the previous ones played against Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Switzerland, Ghana, Ukraine and Mali. In the case of Venezuela, this is their 4th friendly of the year, after having already faced the United Arab Emirates, Panama and Colombia. There is no record of direct confrontations between these two teams in the last 3 years. The last match was played on 09-09-2014 and ended with the score: Japan (3-0) Venezuela. In this game the home factor may be decisive, since both teams present considerable differences in the results achieved at home and as a visitor.
Japan:
This is the 9th friendly match of the year for the home team, after previous friendlies in which they registered the following results: Japan (4-3) Uruguay, Japan (3-0) Panama, Japan (3-0) Costa Rica, Japan (4-2) Paraguay, Switzerland (2-0) Japan, Japan (0-2) Ghana, Japan (1-2) Ukraine and Japan (1-1) Mali. This is a team that usually gets better results in away matches than at home, since in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses in away matches, with 26 goals scored and 12 conceded; against 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses at their stadium, with 28 goals scored and 25 conceded. In the last 7 home matches for Japan, they register 4 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.
For this competition, it registers a sequence of 4 wins in the last matches and has not lost any of the last 4 matches in its stadium. They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 6 of the last 8 matches, but their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 6 of the last 8 matches for this competition. In their away matches there is a tendency for goals, since 16 of the last 18 matches have ended with Over 1,5 goals and 12 out of 18 have ended with Over 2,5 goals.
Japan leaves for this game with a home victory, 4-3, in the reception to Uruguay, adding the third consecutive victory: the goals of the team were marked by Osako, Doan and Minamino (2). In this game against Venezuela, it is clear that the Japanese will choose to act in a 4-4-2, favoring a faster style of play, in constant offensive transitions. Striker Shoka Nakajima will be one of the most advanced players, offering his team the possibility of creating a lot of danger through counterattacks. For this game coach Hajime Moriyasu can count on all the players.
Venezuela:
The visiting team disputes their 4th friendly of the year. In the previous friendly matches it registered the following markers: United Arab Emirates (0-2) Venezuela, Panama (0-2) Venezuela and Venezuela (1-2) Colombia. This is a team that, oddly enough, was better outside than at home, as in the last 30 matches they register 5 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses in away matches; against 3 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses at their stadium. In the last 7 away matches for all competitions, Venezuela have won 3, tied 3 and lost 1. Their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches.
Venezuela comes to this game with a 0-2 win against the United Arab Emirates, thus recording the second consecutive victory: Mago and Ponce marked the team’s blows. The Venezuelan team usually plays in a traditional 4-4-2, in which the two most advanced players are Rondón and Josef Martínez. Despite its offensive quality, it is important to point out that Venezuela has several weaknesses when it comes to defending collectively. The coach Rafael Dudamel has all the players available.
