The Samurai Blue head into a pair of international friendlies after an impressive Asian World Cup Qualifying campaign, booking their spot in the finals in Qatar
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Japan will take on Paraguay in an international friendly at the Sapporo Dome stadium on Thursday. The Samurai Blue head into a pair of international friendlies after an impressive Asian World Cup Qualifying campaign, making it to the finals in Qatar. Meanwhile Paraguay head into the tie on the back of an unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing eighth in the 10-team points table, only the top four earn direct qualification for the World Cup, while the fifth-placed team go into play-offs. Japan would be aiming to build further momentum heading into the EAFF East Asian Cup final round match against South Korea later this month.
Paraguay National Team arrive in Japan – KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2022【6/2＠Hokkaido】 #football https://t.co/ukp8FAhmUc
— jfa_en (@jfa_en) June 1, 2022
The Samurai Blue didn’t have a great start to their qualifying campaign, losing against Oman and Saudi Arabia either side of a win over China. However, Hajime Moriyasu’s side managed to turn their fortunes, winning six back-to-back games to secure second spot in the Group B, behind Saudi Arabia to book a ticket to Qatar 2022. They rounded off the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Vietnam at the end of March. Maya Yoshida canceled out Thanh Binh’s opener to earn a point at Saitama Stadium. After the Paraguay match, Japan will host Brazil in a friendly match on Monday before facing Ghana in the Kirin Cup semi-final, four days later.
On the other hand, Paraguay’s last friendly came late in 2019, and they have since gone through World Cup qualifying and Copa America campaigns. La Albirroja suffered a 2-0 loss to Peru in their last match courtesy of goals from Gianluca Lapadula and Yoshimar Yotun. The result helped Peru to overtake Colombia and secure the fifth spot, giving them a chance to make the World Cup via the play-off.
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Moriyasu has called up a strong squad for the friendlies, with Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu fit to be included after his struggles with injuries towards the end of the Premier League season. He could play alongside Maya Yoshida in the back-four, while Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino will lead the attack. As for Paraguay, Newcastle United star Miguel Almiron is set to return to the starting eleven for Thursday’s contest after missing the last round of World Cup qualifiers. Angel Romero is likely to lead the attack with Oscar Romero deployed at the right-flank.
The international friendly between Japan and Paraguay will take place at the Sapporo Dome Stadium and it will kick off at 3:30 pm IST on Thursday, June 2.
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