In preparation for their quarter-final fixture at the CONCACAF Nations League next month, Canada head to Denka Big Swan Stadium in Niigata for a friendly with Japan on Friday.
It will be the second time in less than a year that these sides face each other in an international friendly, with the Canucks winning the previous meeting between the two, 2-1 in November 2022.
Match preview
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Maintaining what has been a high level of play from the Japanese of late is likely the focus for Hajime Moriyasu's men heading into their upcoming friendlies before World Cup qualifying begins next month.
The Japan post-World Cup saga began disappointingly, with this team going winless in their first two encounters versus Uruguay (1-1) and Colombia (2-1 loss), but they have picked up steam since then, currently on a four-match winning run, scoring four or more goals in each of those triumphs.
Over that stretch, the Samurai Blue have started fast and never let up, scoring six goals within the opening 22 minutes and netting five times with fewer than 20 minutes to play.
They will enter this contest having suffered just one defeat in their last seven matches played on Japanese soil (2-1 versus Colombia), while they have not been held off the scoresheet in the Land of the Rising Sun since a 0-0 draw against China in July 2022 during the East Asian Federation Football Championship.
This team have won two of their last three competitive matches after conceding the opening goal, with both victories coming during the group stage of the most recent World Cup (2-1 versus Germany and 2-1 against Spain), while three of their previous four losses have occurred when they have drawn first blood, including their defeat on penalties against Croatia in the last 16 at the 2022 finals.
The Samurai Blue have lost two of their last three encounters versus CONCACAF opponents, with that one victory coming in a 6-0 hammering over El Salvador last June, while they have never lost a game played in Japan against that region.
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After being number two for nearly five years, Mauro Biello now has a chance to be the head coach of the Canadian national team as he prepares for his first match as interim boss this week.
Biello has some big shoes to fill following the departure of John Herdman, who guided this program to a Nations League final earlier this year, as well as their second-ever World Cup appearance last winter, while also helping the Canadian men become the most improved team according to FIFA in 2021.
Lately, though the men's program seems to have declined a little, with the senior side winning just one of their previous five competitive fixtures, while the Canadian Soccer Association reported losses of over $6m (£4.9m) last year, as Canada are going through some very uncertain times at the moment.
Since conceding three unanswered goals to Haiti in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Gold Cup, Canada have not lost a match within 90 minutes when leading in the second half, though they were a minute away from upsetting the USA in the quarter-finals of the last Gold Cup before an own-goal from Scott Kennedy forced penalties where the Canucks would eventually lose.
Defensively, Biello has some work to do to try and improve this group, who have conceded multiple goals in four of their last five encounters after allowing just one in their first three matches following the World Cup.
Canada have not lost to an Asian opponent since November 2016 (2-0 defeat versus South Korea), with the Canucks unbeaten in three successive encounters against that region, including their first-ever triumph over Japan in 2022.
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Team News
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Moriyasu selected a relatively experienced Japanese squad for this international window, with Kanji Okunuki and Daiya Maekawa being the only ones called up without a senior appearance.
In their previous victory versus Turkey, Seiya Maikuma and Koki Machida debuted for the Samurai Warriors on the backline, while captain Wataru Endo has gone over the half-century mark for caps, currently at 52 after featuring in the starting 11 for Japan in three successive outings.
Junya Ito has a goal in his last four encounters with the Japanese as his 78th-minute penalty capped off a 4-2 triumph over the Turks last month, on a night when Atsuki Ito scored his first on the international stage, while Junya's teammate at Reims Keito Nakamura had a brace, his second and third goals with the senior squad.
Three Canadian players called up for this match have yet to make a senior appearance, including Harry Paton, Mathieu Choiniere and Luc de Fougerolles, while Maxime Crepeau was named to the 23-man squad having missed the World Cup in Qatar due to a broken leg.
Milan Borjan can move into a tie with Mark Watson for sixth in all-time appearances this week, Jonathan Osorio has a chance to surpass Lyndon Hooper for eighth in that department, Samuel Piette could overtake Alex Bunbury for 10th should he see the field and Alphonso Davies is just nine caps away from 50 as a Canadian player.
Jonathan David, who is tied with Benjamin Andre for the lead in goals with Lille in Ligue 1 this season (two), is just three behind Cyle Larin for the most all-time in Canadian history, with the Mallorca striker still seeking his first of the new La Liga campaign.
Japan possible starting lineup:
Osako; Maikuma, Taniguchi, Tomiyasu, H. Ito; Endo, Tanaka; Kubo, Minamino, J. Ito; Furuhashi
Canada possible starting lineup:
Borjan; Johnston, Vitoria, Adekugbe; Laryea, Kone, Eustaquio, Osorio, Davies; Larin, David
We say: Japan 3-1 Canada
Defensively, Canada have looked relatively poor of late against weaker opponents in their region, and it will not be easy containing a unit as creative as the Japanese, who are finding the back of the net at an alarming rate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
