Ecuador and Japan will meet in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday, with both sides in need of a win to progress into the last eight.
Ecuador are bottom of Group C and without a point whilst Japan have one point from their two matches.
With Chile on 6 points and Uruguay on 4, Ecuador and Japan can only qualify as one of the best third place teams so it should be an exciting encounter.
Ecuador suffered a 4-0 defeat to Uruguay in their opening match and most recently lost to Chile. Two Chile goals, either side of an Enner Valencia penalty condemned Ecuador to successive defeats, despite them having the lion’s share of the possession.
They were much more competitive against Chile in comparison with their loss to Uruguay and they will be confident of beating Japan.
Gabriel Achilier was given a red card for an elbow on Arturo Vidal in their last game, so he will miss the match with Japan through suspension.
Ecuador also had a man sent off in their first match and head coach Hernan Dario Gomez will need to make some important team selections due to his side’s poor disciplinary record.
Japan picked up an impressive 2-2 draw with Uruguay in their last match. 22-year-old Koji Miyoshi scored both his side’s goals in an entertaining tie.
Luis Suarez equalized from the penalty spot after Japan took a surprise lead. They then took the lead again in the second half before Jose Giminez leveled with a header from a corner.
Like Ecuador, the guest nation drastically improved on their performance in their opening match and the Asian side will be eager to upset the South Americans.
Japan have a young and relatively inexperienced squad. Takefusa Kubo, dubbed the ‘Japanese Messi’, has recently signed for Real Madrid but was left out of the starting eleven against Chile. He is expected to come back into the side for the match with Ecuador.
View this post on Instagram 【📸日本代表 Team Cam】 #SAMURAIBLUE の6/22の練習には、ベロ・オリゾンテ周辺にお住まいの日本人、日系人の方々約70人が応援にかけつけてくれました。たくさんの応援ありがとうございます！ ・ >>Next Match グループステージ 第3戦 📅日本時間6/25 8:00 🆚vsエクアドル🇪🇨 ・ #jfa #daihyo #コパアメリカ #Copaamerica ・ ―――――――――――――――――― CONMEBOLコパアメリカブラジル2019 6/18 0-4 チリ🇨🇱 6/21 08:00 vsウルグアイ🇺🇾 6/25 08:00 vsエクアドル🇪🇨 ※すべて日本時間 👉大会情報はJFA.jpへ ―――――――――――――――――― A post shared by 日本サッカー協会（JFA） (@japanfootballassociation) on Jun 23, 2019 at 8:23pm PDT
【📸日本代表 Team Cam】 #SAMURAIBLUE の6/22の練習には、ベロ・オリゾンテ周辺にお住まいの日本人、日系人の方々約70人が応援にかけつけてくれました。たくさんの応援ありがとうございます！ ・ >>Next Match グループステージ 第3戦 📅日本時間6/25 8:00 🆚vsエクアドル🇪🇨 ・ #jfa #daihyo #コパアメリカ #Copaamerica ・ ―――――――――――――――――― CONMEBOLコパアメリカブラジル2019 6/18 0-4 チリ🇨🇱 6/21 08:00 vsウルグアイ🇺🇾 6/25 08:00 vsエクアドル🇪🇨 ※すべて日本時間 👉大会情報はJFA.jpへ ――――――――――――――――――
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The two teams have only faced each other three times before, with their most recent meeting coming back in 2006. Japan won that match 1-0 and their overall head-to-head record stands at 2-1 in favor of Japan.
Forebet predicts a close encounter, with Ecuador coming out on top in a low scoring affair.