Both Japan and Greece head into their second World Cup match off the back of losses to the Ivory Coast and Colombia, but the Greeks are much worse off due to failing to score a single goal in the 3-0 rout.
And as the Ivory Coast ended up losing to Colombia earlier today, the pressure will be on for both to earn maximum points since the group now has opened up in the race for second place.
On paper, it appears that Japan are the favorites to win, as Keisuke Honda had first put his side ahead early in the first half only to have Les Elephants rapidly equalize and then clinch all three points after two quickfire goals from Gervinho and Wilfried Bony. Moreover, Alberto Zaccheroni's men all in all had a good showing during the first 45 only to become overrun during the second, and this is something that their fans will hope they can improve on during this game.
However, in Greece, they do face a team known for its defensive nature, although it definitely failed to have any impact as they were routed in a comfortable win for a Colombia side sans Radamel Falcao. Nonetheless, the squad, which is managed by Fernando Santos, still does have the personnel to make things difficult for the 2002 World Cup co-hosts.
Hence, they, just like Japan, will be fighting tooth and nail to make sure they have a fair chance of making it to the round of 16.
Japan's starting XI: Kawashima; Uchida, Konno, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Hasebe, Yamaguchi, Honda; Osako, Okubo, Okazaki
Greece's starting XI: Karnezis; Torosidis, Manolas, Sokratis, Holebas; Katsouranis, Maniatis, Kone; Fetfatzidis, Samaras, Mitroglou
