Nigeria's quest for Olympic glory begins with a date with the Asian champions. What can Samson Siasia's side expect?

Asian champions Japan will, when they take the field against Nigeria in the early hours of Friday, be competing in the football tournament of the Olympic Games for the tenth time. Qualifying for the first time in 1936, they achieved their best result in 1968, a bronze medal finish attained by defeating hosts Mexico 2-0 at the iconic Azteca Stadium.
That great team was led by legendary Japanese forward and all-time national team top scorer Kunishige Kanamoto, whose haul of seven was the best in the tournament. Interestingly, he amassed almost half that total with a hat-trick in the group stage against Nigeria, as the Samurai Blue ran out 3-1 winners.
The London Games four years ago brought another rousing run to the last four, before defeat at the hands of regional arch rivals Korea put paid to any medal hopes in the third-place play-off.

PLAYER TO WATCH: TAKUMA ASANO
Once more, Japan come into the Rio Games as AFC champions, courtesy of an invigorating comeback in the final of the AFC U-23 Championship. To come from two goals down in the second half to win 3-2 was hugely impressive; demonstrably, this is a team with huge character and, in Makoto Teguramori, they have a coach with a knack for decisive contributions. It was his decision to bring on speedy striker Takuma Asano that sparked the turnaround.
The 21-year-old made the headlines this summer following his move to Premier League giants Arsenal, and he showed in that final that he can be one of the key players in Rio for the Japanese. Lithe, quick and a confident finisher, his importance to the cause may have even been enhanced by the unavailability of energetic forward Yuya Kubo. He will be expected to bring guile to the forward line, and work the channels, which is a vital part of Teguramori’s attacking framework.

STYLE OF PLAY
Japan favour a 4-4-2 system, and play quite narrow in both attacking and defensive phases. The aim is to preserve compactness in the latter, while encouraging attacking connections in the former. There is a lack of a proper playmaker in the team which, allied to the shape, makes build-up through the middle impossible.
As a result, they are extremely reliant on long balls into the half-spaces for the strikers, who split wide. The wingers also get high up the pitch quickly, seeking to capitalise on knockdowns and loose balls or, in the case of a turnover, to initiate a quick counterpress. Failing this, they drop quickly into two banks of four, but are quite happy to move out of the shape to press, especially when the ball is played out wide.
To their disadvantage, when this is done, they are often guilty of not shifting across quickly enough to adjust to the position of the ball, and gaps can appear between the central midfielders, making access to the ball difficult. However, they circumvent this problem by their high energy and supreme fitness, so much so they are quick to pounce on poor control or an underhit pass - there are gaps to exploit, but you have to be near perfect in possession to take advantage.When they do get on the ball though, the wing duo of Takumi Minamino and Shoya Nakajima are the major sources of creativity, as they duck into the centre of the pitch to combine with the forwards.The loss of Kubo will be a huge miss, though. The Young Boys striker is remarkably mature, and gets through a tremendous amount of running, even going toward his own goal and harrying opposition midfielders. If this sounds like your generic workhorse forward, then it does not do him justice: he possesses quality in the attacking third as well.
Japan’s preparation for the Rio Olympics has featured wins over Ghana, Guinea and a hiding of fellow qualifiers South Africa. Clearly, this Samurai Blue may not have flash or flair in abundance, but they are a winning team. Come Friday morning, they will be prepared.

https://soccertrivia24..co.ke/2016/08/scouting-report-what-to-expect-from.html?m=1

I'v already staked my money on Japan win/draw

What to expect from Nigeria nko?

youngest85:
I'v already staked my money on Japan win/draw

Good luck. but i fly the Nigerian color. let's go Eagles.

youngest85:
I'v already staked my money on Japan win/draw

Tear ticket

Otunba10:
Tear ticket

Dat Etebo don chop witch shay?

I go visit im family house 4 isoko north

youngest85:
I'v already staked my money on Japan win/draw

You lost sorry