Japan vs Mexico: Top two sides go toe to toe for possible top spot on July 25th

Topics: TV Schedules, Japan U23, Mexico U23, 2020 Olympic Games

After winning their respective Olympics openers, Japan and Mexico will square off with the top spot in Group A up for grabs.

Preview: Japan vs Mexico

Both Japan and Mexico come into their second Olympics group stage clash with three points after winning their respective games. The hosts battled to a gritty 1-0 win over South Africa, while Mexico, who won the gold back in 2012, overwhelmed France in a resounding 4-1 victory. Real Madrid's Takefusa Kubo was the hero on the night for Hajime Moriyasu's men, and a victory for Japan would guarantee them safe passage to the knockout rounds.

After crashing out in the group stage at the 2016 Olympics, Japan will be especially keen to get things right this time around, with the added incentive of playing at home a bonus. They have been in good form lately, with just one loss in their last six across all comps and wins in three of their most recent four matches, but will certainly face a stern test against a Mexican side who have also been in top form coming into this tournament.

Uriel Antuna, Eduardo Aguirre, Alexis Vega, and Sebastian Cordova all got onto the score-sheet as Mexico thrashed France 4-1, and as a result, Jaime Lozano's troops sit on top of Group A thanks their superior goal difference. Like Japan, Mexico had a disappointing Olympics tournament back in 2016, where they failed to qualify although they picked up four points. Since then, they're been unbeaten in all their subsequent games across all comps and notably have won eight of their last nine fixtures, meaning that they are indeed a side that could pose a major threat at this summer's games.

Team news: Japan vs Mexico

Both Japan and Mexico got throught their first matches unscathed, meaning that their respective managers will be able to field their strongest XIs for this crunch clash.

Match facts: Japan vs Mexico

Mexico are unbeaten across all comps since crashing out in the group stages at the 2016 Olympics
They've also won eight of their last nine games
Japan have lost just one of their last six matches (W3 D2)