Tokyo 2020 is getting to the end of the road and the men’s soccer tournament is at its crucial stages. Mexico and Japan will take the field by stormon Friday, August 8, with the Olympic bronze medal on the line. Here, take a look at how both sides would line up in their lastOlympic Games match.
El Tri won’t be able to win thegold medal, like they did at 2012 London Olympics, after losing to Brazil on penalties in the semifinals. Jaime Lozano‘s team still has the chance to finish these Olympic Games on the right foot bringing a medal home.
Japan, meanwhile, will try to conclude the competition in the way they’ve started it. The Group A winners failed to carry their level to the knockout round, where they beat New Zealand in the penalty shootout before losing at Spain. Will they bounce back and beat Mexico for the second time in these Summer Olympics?
Possible lineups for Mexico vs. Japan
These two have already faced each other in this tournament during the group stage. Japan claimed the win that time by 2-1 in what was El Tri’s worst performance in the tournament so far.
Mexico coach Jaime Lozano wouldn’t make many changes to the team he has been using throughout the Olympic Games, so this is how El Tri would line up:Guillermo Ochoa; Vladimir Loroña, Johan Vásquez, Luis Montes, Jorge Sánchez; Luis Romo, Carlos Rodríguez, Sebastián Córdova; Uriel Antuna, Henry Martín, Alexis Vega.
Japan, on the other hand, has done poorly after getting into the knockout stages, as they hold two games without scoring. This would be their lineup to chase the Olympic bronze medal: Tani, Sakai, Ikatura, Yoshida, Nakayama, Endo, Tanaka, Hatate, Kubo, Doan, Hayashi.