We are less than a week away from the start of the World Cup, but before they begin their respective campaigns in Qatar, Canada and Japan will square off on Thursday at Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
In two previous meetings against them, the Samurai Blue have beaten Canada both times, with the last game coming in 2013, which Japan won 2-1.
Match preview
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A 36-year wait to compete in the finals is nearly over as the youngsters In this Canadian squad prepare to play on football's biggest stage for the first time.
John Herdman finalised his roster on Sunday, with the architect of this resurging program focusing more on youth heading into the finals, as only six players chosen are currently 30 years of age or older.
They may be one of the most inexperienced sides heading to Qatar, but Les Rouges have shown an ability to overwhelm veteran opponents with their transitional play.
In addition to that, numerous Canadian players are making an impact with their club teams in some of the top European competitions this season.
Despite going winless in their last two encounters, Canada have created their share of chances, drawing Bahrain 2-2 last Friday and out-possessing Uruguay in September, but ultimately falling 2-0.
Since 2016, Canada have only lost one of their four fixtures against Asian opponents, with their last victory coming in September, 2-0 versus Qatar.
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Heading into their seventh successive trip to the finals, Japan have been dealt a tough hand, drawing a pair of former World Cup winners in Germany and Spain in Group E, alongside Costa Rica.
As a result, their odds of qualifying for the last 16 for the fourth time in their history appears doubtful, though they proved to be a formidable opponent in Russia four years ago.
Since a 3-0 defeat against Tunisia at the Kirin Cup final, Hajime Moriyasu's men have been a lot sharper defensively, posting five successive clean sheets.
While few expect them to make it beyond the group stage in Qatar, this is a team that should not be taken lightly, with Japan holding World Cup favourites Brazil goalless until the 77th minute in a 1-0 defeat in June, one of only two losses for them all year.
Their defensive performances have stood out lately, but this team is filled with creative midfielders who flourish at club level and with the national team.
Canada will only be the third CONCACAF nation they face since 2020, with the Samurai Blue losing 2-0 versus Mexico nearly two years ago, while they did well to neutralise a strong USA squad earlier this year, winning by that same score and failing to concede a shot on target.
Team News
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Alphonso Davies has missed the last two matches for his club side Bayern Munich with a hamstring strain, but he is expected to play for Canada at the World Cup, though Maxime Crepeau was not selected after breaking his leg for Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup final, while Scott Kennedy was also left off the 26-man squad having sustained a knock for his German team Jahn Regensburg.
Jonathan David has not scored in his last four Ligue 1 matches for Lille, though he is still tied for fourth in the league with nine goals, while Ismael Kone fired home his first international goal in their friendly against Bahrain.
Milan Borjan has a chance to tie former Canadian international Lyndon Hooper for seventh in career appearances for Les Rouges, with the Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper currently on 67 caps with the national team.
Tajon Buchanan and all-time leading goalscorer Cyle Larin have only scored once each domestically this season for the Belgian champions Club Brugge and Junior Hoilett needs one more goal to draw even with Ali Gerba for the ninth-most with the Canadian team.
After replacing Shuichi Gonda in goal in their victory over the Americans in September, Daniel Schmidt stopped four shots to collect a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador, and Yuto Nagatomo earned his 137th international cap, putting him in second all-time for Japan behind Yasuhito Endo, who has 152.
Maya Yoshida has a chance to tie Masami Ihara for third all-time in caps, with the Schalke centre-back currently at 121, Daizen Maeda scored his first international goal in their victory over the US with Kaoru Mitoma notching his fifth for Japan in that match, while Daichi Kamada has seven goals in the Bundesliga this season to lead his club side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Yuta Nakayama was not selected for the World Cup because of an injury, while Ao Tanaka, Takefusa Kubo, Takuma Asano and Ko Itakura seem to have recovered from their previous knocks and will all be travelling to Qatar.
Canada possible starting lineup:
Borjan; Miller, Vitoria, Johnston; Hutchinson; Laryea, Eustaquio, Kaye, Osorio; David, Larin
Japan possible starting lineup:
Gonda; Sakai, Yoshida, Tomiyasu, H. Ito; W. Endo, Morita; J. Ito, Minamino, Kubo; Asano
We say: Canada 0-1 Japan
The minor injury to Davies seems to have served as a warning call to Herdman to take it easy and rest his star wing-back ahead of the World Cup.
Regardless of how long the top players for either side feature in this match, we are leaning towards the Samurai Blue, who should be able to control the game's pace in the midfield while being a formidable defensive unit to break down.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
