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Japan resume their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup at home to the already-eliminated Mongolia on Tuesday at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba.
Having won all four of their games in Group F so far, the Blue Samurai look well-placed to advance into the third round.
They're one of the only three sides, along with Syria and Australia, to maintain a 100% win record at this stage. They are also the only team besides South Korea yet to concede a goal.
Hajime Moriyasu's team sit atop their group's table with 12 points, two clear of second-placed Tajikistan despite playing two games fewer. They need just four points from as many games to confirm their place in the final round of the qualifiers.
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Japan prepped for the game with a healthy 3-0 victory over neighbors South Korea in a Yokohama friendly. Miki Yamane, Daichi Kamada, and Wataru Endo were on target for the hosts.
Mongolia enter the match as clear underdogs and have little to play for, considering they're already out of the race.
With just one win and five defeats from six games so far, the Blue Wolves are at the bottom of the group.
They started off the campaign by defeating Myanmar 1-0 at home, but lost all of their next five group fixtures, ending their qualifying campaign on a whimper.
Mongolia vs Japan Head-To-Head
Japan have beaten Mongolia in all four of their previous clashes with a staggering aggregate score of 57-0.
That includes a 6-0 thumping in the first leg of their qualifying game, Japan's lowest winning margin of any of their four games against Mongolia.
Mongolia Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-L-L-L
Japan Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-L-W
Mongolia vs Japan Team News
Mongolia
Head coach Rastislav Bozik might be compelled to make a few changes to his XI after the 3-0 thumping at the hands of Tajikistan in the last game.
Baljinnyam Batbold and Tsedenbal Norjmoogiin might be handed a start, while Oyunbaatar Mijiddorj could make his first start for Mongolia.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Japan
The Blue Samurai surprisingly fielded a strong lineup for the friendly against South Korea and might go with the same XI once again. The selection could feature top stars like Takumi Minamino, Daichi Kamada, and Yuya Osako.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Mongolia vs Japan Predicted XI
Mongolia (4-1-4-1): Mönkh-Erdene Enkhtaivan; Oyunbaatar Otgonbayar, Bilguun Ganbold, Tuguldur Gult, Tsedenbal Norjmoogiin; Tsend-Ayuush Khürelbaatar; Baljinnyam Batbold, Ganbold Ganbayar, Dulguun Amaraa, Narmandakh Artag; Oyunbaatar Mijiddorj.
Japan (4-2-3-1): Shuichi Gonda; Miki Yamane, Maya Yoshida, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Sho Sasaki; Hidemasa Morita, Wataru Endo; Junya Ito, Daichi Kamada, Takumi Minamino; Yuya Osako.
Mongolia vs Japan Prediction
Ranked at 190th, Mongolia are simply one of the weakest sides in the world. Japan must be licking their lips at the prospect of taking them on once more.
We expect the Samurai Blues to dish out another shellacking.
Prediction: Mongolia 0-4 Japan
