Japan v Senegal - Preview and possible lineups

Japan:

Keisuke Honda bruised his thigh after coming off the bench in Japan's opener, and will almost certainly remain among the substitutes for this game. Shinji Okazaki is in a similar situation, having only been fit enough for five minutes of action at the end of the Colombia clash.

This means that it appears likely that the 'Blue Samurai' will name an unchanged lineup on Sunday.

Senegal:

The African side may also stick with the same XI as their first game, after an impressive victory over Poland. They have no fresh injury concerns, and there is no obvious reason to switch things up drastically given their performance in their opener. 

Japan boss Akira Nishino:

Nishino said that he isn't scared of his opponents, although he admitted that they have great quality. "We are not fearful of Senegal at all," he said. "I'm very much confident of our team and organisation but the impression of Senegal is slightly different from what we see as an African team."

"They are not just speed or physicality, therefore against individual players there are things we could do but Senegal has some superstars."

Senegal boss Aliou Cisse:

With both sides on three points, Cisse is aware that a victory will put Senegal on the verge of the knockouts. “The team who wins will be nearly qualified,” he stated.

He says his players are full of desire to progress as far as possible. “These are players who have grown," he said. "I am with players who have been in the national team for a long time and they are at big clubs. They want to write their own history."

"We don’t have a World Cup every year. They know that this could be their last. That is close to their heart.”

Did you know?

No Asian nation has ever won both of their opening two games at a World Cup tournament, and Japan have not won consecutive games at the World Cup since 2002. Senegal, meanwhile, are undefeated in group stage games at the World Cup.

Form:

Possible lineups:

Japan: Kawashima; Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo; Hasebe, Shibasaki, Haraguchi, Kagawa, Inui; Osako.

Senegal: Ndiaye; Wague, Sane, Koulibaly, Gassama; Sarr, Ndiaye, Gueye, Mane; Diouf, Niang.