Toll Free: 1-888-759-2665Backup: 1-888-740-1958 

Match Preview: Colombia vs Japan, Group H, June 19

The very interesting World Cup group H gets started on Tuesday June 19th when Colombia takes on Japan at 8am Eastern in Saransk, Russia. Colombia boasts a better chance of winning according to the current odds, but Japan is coming into this tournament as a bit of an x-factor, having changed coaches two months before the start of the tournament. Which players are going to be included on the starting roster and what style of play they will employ are relatively unknown. This complicates Colombia's ability to prepare for the match, and with a little luck and a lot of effort, it is conceivable that Japan could pull off an upset. Both these teams were in the same group in the 2014 World Cup. That year, the Colombians finished first in the group and Japan finished last. Visit our Russia 2018 betting odds section and register today to receive the best World Cup bonuses and biggest selection of prop bets and futures.

Colombia

James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao lead an impressive offense that guided Colombia through a very competitive CONMEBOL qualifying round. They got off to a good start, going 4-1-1 through their first 6 games of qualifying, but fell off and went 1-3-3 in the last 7. Rodriguez lead the team in scoring with 6 goals despite not being available for all of the games due to club restrictions. Colombia has appeared in 4 World Cup tournaments since 1990, their best showing being the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they made it to the quarter-finals. For a long time the country dwelled in the shadows of its powerful soccer neighbors Brazil and Argentina, but in the last 20 or so years Colombia has made leaps and bounds in establishing itself as a force in the region. Expectations are high for this year's World Cup after having their best showing ever in 2014.

Japan

Having qualified for the last six consecutive World Cup Tournaments, in which they advanced to the second round in both 2002 and 2010, Japan is next to South Korea as the best football nations in their region. Japan has also won a record four Asian Cups, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. They were also runners up in the Confederations cup in 2001, where they lost 1-0 to France in the final. Starting in 2010 Japan began increasing their profile as a soccer nation. That year they made it to a shootout in the Round of 16 vs Paraguay, and then went on to win the Asian Cup in 2011 and participated in the Confederations Cup in 2013. In qualifying for the 2014 cup, Japan lost only two matches and locked up the top spot, then went on to a historic 1-0 win over France in a pre-world cup friendly match. Since then the scope of success has been dialed back, as they lost the last Asian Cup and did not make it out of the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. Also, the team has undergone a fair deal of turmoil in the last year, after manager Vahid Halilhodzic was let go only two months before the start of the World Cup and replaced by Akira Nishino. Because of the recent turnover, it is difficult to say who Japan will start and what style they will play, but that may work to their favor as an unknown underdog coming into group play.

Match Overview

These teams have played each other on three other occasions, the most recent being in the 2014 World Cup when Colombia won 4-1 in the group stage. While both teams have been through a lot since then, not much has changed in terms of hierarchy. Colombia still has the advantage here with a more complete roster and stable coaching situation. The best Japan can hope for is to catch the Colombians off guard with something they are not expecting and ride out a 1-0 win.

$10,000 in Prizes + 100% Cash Bonus

Group Phase