Colombia vs Japan Free World Cup Picks and Group H Odds

by Josh Schonwald - 6/6/2018

World Cup Group H

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Mordovia Arena

Colombia will play at Mordovia Arena when they take on Japan on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in a Group H matchup. The opening line for this game has Colombia at -141 and Japan at +410. The total has been set at 2.25. Columbia will be going into their Group H matchup with Japan as favorites, but not as huge favorites. Both teams have struggled in recent months to score goals, so there's a pretty good chance this will be a draw or a low-scoring, one-goal win for one of the teams. Columbia is looking to get off to a good start in a group they should win, while Japan will be looking to show that their experience makes up for their lack of superstars.

Colombia

Columbia has a great mix of players in their prime and players with plenty of national team experience. They have plenty of offensive firepower, but their two games leading up to the World Cup ended in 0-0 draws, which is cause for worry. Of course, they made it to the next round four years ago with a very similar squad, so there confidence should be pretty high going into their game against Japan. Their recent struggles pushed them down the FIFA rankings, but they still sit at a respectable 16th place right now. Manager Jose Pekerman (40-19-14 career record) has had some success in this tournament before, but his recent lineup selections have been questioned after leaving some stars on the bench.

James Rodriguez

The Real Madrid / Bayern Munich forward is unquestionably the top talent on this Columbian team and he will be relied upon to do some magical thins like he did four years ago.

Davinson Sanchez

The young center back will be hoping he continues to grow as a player following a successful club campaign with Tottenham career. He has just nine caps to his name, though, and it can be tough for young defenders to handle their first taste of the bright lights of the World Cup.

Japan

As is usually the case, Japan had an easy enough time getting into the World Cup, but they have struggled quite a bit since then. Since their December win over China, they have gone winless in four games, scoring just three goals in total over that span However, they are coming into this tournament with a lot of experienced and talented players on their team, so it wouldn't be a total shock if they're able to get some big results. Japan is certainly one of the underdogs in the World Cup, coming in ranked 60th overall in the latest FIFA rankings. Coach Akira Nishino has only had a couple of months to get to know this team, so it will be interesting to see how much of an impact he's had on the team in that time.

Keisuke Honda

It seems like Honda has been around forever, but he's still only 31 and can score plenty of goals. He scored seven goals during qualifications, so he is definitely the hot offensive threat for Japan coming into the tournament.

Shinji Kagawa

With nearly 100 national team appearances and 29 goals on his resume, Kagawa will be counted on to use his creativity to break opposing defenses down. He's a very intelligent player who will not be intimidated by any of the opposition he'll face in this group.

Key Colombia Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Japan Injuries

No key injuries to report

Who will win tonight's Colombia/Japan World Cup game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Colombia -141

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Colombia vs Japan Group H World Cup Picks & Predictions 6/19/2018

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