MEXICO - Japan's national soccer team arrived in Monterrey, Mexico, after holding a mostly closed training session near Nashville, Tennessee, on June 18 as it prepares for a key Group F match against Tunisia on June 20 local time, or June 21 in Japan, at Monterrey Stadium.
The team traveled to Mexico after completing its preparations near Nashville, where Japan has been based during the North American tournament. The match will be Japan's second in the group stage of the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Japan opened its campaign with a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands in Dallas, salvaging a point when Daichi Kamada scored an 88th-minute equalizer. Keito Nakamura had earlier scored Japan's first goal after the Netherlands took the lead through Virgil van Dijk. Crysencio Summerville then put the Dutch back in front before Kamada's late strike gave Japan a valuable point.
Tunisia enters the match under pressure after losing 5-1 to Sweden in its opening game. The defeat left Tunisia at the bottom of Group F and led to the dismissal of head coach Sabri Lamouchi, with Hervé Renard brought in to lead the team through the rest of the tournament.
Renard, who has previously coached Morocco and Saudi Arabia at the World Cup, described Japan as "the best team in Asia" ahead of the match. Tunisia needs a positive result to stay in contention, while Japan will be looking for its first win after narrowly missing out on three points against the Netherlands.
After the first round of matches, Sweden leads Group F with three points, while Japan and the Netherlands have one point each. Tunisia has no points. Japan is scheduled to face Sweden in its final group match on June 25.
Source: Kyodo
