Japan and Panama meet at Merkur Arena, in a friendly. This is Japan’s 3rd friendly of the year, after friendlies against Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. In the case of Panama, this is their 3rd friendly match of the year, after previous friendlies against Costa Rica. There is only one record of head-to-head in the last 3 years between these two teams, on 12-10-2018, which ended with the victory of Japan by (3-0). Panama presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor, so in this match the home factor may be decisive.
Japan:
The home team plays its 3rd friendly match of the year. In the previous friendlies he registered the following markers: Japan (1‑0) Côte d’Ivoire and Japan (0‑0) Cameroon. This is a team little affected by the home factor, that is, it presents similar results at home and away, since in the last 30 games it has registered 8 victories, 2 draws and 5 losses as a visitor, with 21 goals scored and 13 suffered; against 9 victories, 2 draws and 4 defeats in his stadium, with 25 goals scored and 15 suffered. In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, Japan won 6, drew 2 and lost 2. Their defense has been very solid, since they only conceded goals in 3 of the last 10 matches, and their attack has scored with consistency, as they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 games.
The Japan team comes to this game motivated, after a 1×0 victory against Ivory Coast, returning to the triumphs after two consecutive games without victories: Naomichi Ueda was the great hero, scoring the only goal of the game. Coach Hajime Moriyasu usually acts in a traditional 4-2-3-1, favoring a faster playing style, progressing on the ground mainly through the flanks. Midfielder Takefusa Kubo is one of the most outstanding of this team, being very strong in hand-to-hand, passing and shooting. All players are available for this game.
Panama:
The visiting team plays its 3rd friendly of the year. In the previous friendlies he registered the following scores: Costa Rica (0‑1) Panama and Costa Rica (0‑1) Panama. This is a stronger team with the support of its fans, since in the last 30 games it has registered 4 wins, 2 draws and 9 losses as a visitor, with 11 goals scored and 29 suffered; against 7 victories, 3 draws and 5 defeats in his stadium, with 19 goals scored and 13 suffered. In the last 9 away matches played for all competitions, Panama won 3, drew 1 and lost 5. Their defense has not been very solid, since they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches. In their away matches there is a tendency to have few goals, since 4 of the last 9 they played ended with Under 1.5 goals. In 12 games, they suffered the first goal 8 times and never got the comeback.
Panama comes to this match after a 0x1 victory against Costa Rica, thus registering their second consecutive victory in friendly matches: the only goal of the match was scored by Abdiel Ayarza. The Panamanian team generally operates in a tactical system in 4-3-3, favoring quick transitions, mainly through the flanks. It should be noted that Panama presents some difficulties to finalize the scoring opportunities that it manages to create. Coach Thomas Christiansen can count on all his players.
