A Game of Three Halves: Ivory Coast vs Japan

By Darshan Joshi, writing from Australia

This Friday (June 4), the Japanese will be taking on Ivory Coast in Sion, Switzerland as both teams’ final World Cup warm-up match. The Japanese will feel hard done by after their rather unlucky defeat at the hands of England a few days ago, when two own-goals in the latter stages of the match turned a 1-0 lead into a 1-2 deficit.

The Asian powerhouses will be hoping to introduce Shunsuke Nakamura into the match at some point, following the former Celtic and Espanyol star’s recovery from an ankle injury. We all know of his prowess from free-kicks, and in a tough World Cup group which includes the likes of the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon, his ability to slice defences open from dead-ball situations will be vital.