Zambia take on Japan at Waikato Stadium, where an exciting match is shaping up in the opening round of the group stage of the World Cup. The game kicks off this coming Saturday.
This is the opening match of Group C for both Zambia and Japan, with both of them still upbeat. They’ll fight hard to come out the other end with a good result before facing the other two teams in the group.
Should Zambia actually escape with points to their account from the opening match at the World Cup it’ll be a massive surprise. Bookmakers expect them to be run over at Waikato Stadium on 22nd July at 09:00 (CET). Bookmakers firmly expect Japan to book their first win of the World Cup at the first time of asking. They’ll be eager to send a message to upcoming opponents of how strong they are.
Form: Zambia vs Japan
Zambia Form
Results have been mixed for Zambia from their last three games. They first lost 3-2 to Ireland, before drawing 3-3 against Switzerland. Their latest match ended in glory with a 2-3 victory over Germany. In their last 10 internationals across all tournaments, Zambia secured a modest four wins, while drawing one and lost five of these.
Zambia scored 16 goals in the last 10 internationals, averaging 1.6 a game. They conceded 2.0 goals on average, 20 in total, and kept three clean sheets.
Japan Form
Two wins out of three is a decent showing from Japan. They first beat Portugal 1-2, before bouncing back from a 1-0 defeat to Denmark by thrashing Panama 5-0. Japan won five out of their last 10 internationals across all tournaments and suffered five defeats in the same span.
Japan scored 14 goals in the last 10 internationals, averaging 1.4 a game. They conceded 0.9 goals on average, nine in total, and kept four clean sheets.
Japan should be able to open the World Cup with a win against Zambia, who could be in for a hammering, with the favorites looking to start with a bang.
Zambia vs Japan Stats
- Zambia have lost 3 of the last 4 matches and the sum of goals was over 4.5
- Zambia have not won 8 of the last 10 matches
- Zambia have lost 6 of the last 8 matches
- In 3 of the last 4 Zambia matches the sum of goals was over 4.5
- In 4 of the last 5 Zambia matches the sum of goals was over 3.5
- Japan have lost 3 of the last 4 matches without scoring a goal
- Japan have lost 3 of the last 4 matches while scoring less than 0.5 goals
- In 6 of the last 7 Japan matches the sum of goals was under 3.5
- In 5 of the last 7 Japan matches the sum of goals was under 2.5
- Japan have lost 3 of the last 4 matches while scoring less than 1.5 goals
Current position in the World Cup standings: Zambia vs Japan
Zambia vs Japan H2H
Topscorer
WIN – DRAW – WIN
OVER – UNDER
Over 2.5 goals came out six times in the previous seven matches across all tournaments for Zambia, who scored an average of two goals along the way. Over 2.5 goals happened in six of the last ten outings for Japan, who managed to score 1.5 times in those matches. There have been over 4.5 goals in 3 consecutive Zambia’s games.
BTTS & FIRST TO SCORE
Japan should feel cheery over the chances of getting at least one goal in on Saturday, as Zambia only managed three clean sheets in the previous 10 matches. Japan claimed four clean sheets in their last 10 games.
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