Japan's Shinji Kagawa reacts after his missed kick during their international friendly soccer match against Zambia, ahead of the 2014 World Cup, in Tampa
Japan's Shinji Kagawa reacts after his missed kick during their international friendly soccer match against Zambia, ahead of the 2014 World Cup, in Tampa, Florida June 6, 2014. REUTERS/Scott Audette

Final Score

Ivory Coast 2 Japan 1

Overview

The sixth match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Ivory Coast and Japan. This match is evenly balanced with two teams which are quite similar on paper in terms of their strength. This is the third consecutive world cup for Ivory Coast. They did not qualify before that. Japan has the best record in the group as it qualified for the "Round of 16" twice in their previous four encounters since 1998.

Teams

Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast is the second-best ranked African team. It will definitely bring a lot of energy on the field with strikers like Didier Drogba and Wilfried Bony. In pre-world cup friendlies, it lost against Bosnia-Herzegovina (1-2) and won against El Salvador (2-1). Midfielder Yaya Toure and striker Didier Drogba, who have been instrumental in Ivory Coast's phenomenal progress in the international arena, will be key factors in the match.

Japan: Japan should not ever be taken lightly. This is the fifth consecutive World Cup finals for the Asian giants. While they lack in physical strength when compared with its African counterparts, it compensates with its speed and energy. Japan is the dark horse of the group. Japan scored a lot in its pre-world cup friendlies. It scored 7 goals in its last two matches. It won against Costa Rica (3-1) and Zambia (4-3). Shinji Kagawa is the playmaker who can make all the difference in the match along with Keisuke Honda.

Head to Head

These two teams played against each other 3 times before. Japan won 2 and Ivory Coast 1. There were 4 goals scored, 2 each.

Key Players

Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba, Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure

Japan: Keisuke Honda & Shinji Kagawa

Date, Time & Venue

Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 10 pm (local time) on June 14, which means it is 11 am on June 15 in New South Wales, Australia. The match will be held at Arena Pernambuco in Recife.

Prediction

This match will end up in a draw unlike the previous encounters between the two. While both these teams are quite attacking, it will be a high scoring match with the final score line at 2-2 at the end of the 90 minutes.

Group Predictions

Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G & Group H

Reference: FIFA

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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