Italy v Japan Prediction 19th June 2013 – Confederations Cup

Italy v Japan Betting Preview
After securing an opening victory against Mexico, Italy look well on track to book their progress through to the semi finals of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. They seem to be in a very good mood and look a very competent side on the pitch. Their second challenge will vary vastly from their first, as they may have to grind down an industrious Japan side. The Blue Samurai fell to Brazil in their opening match and need to try and register something here in order to keep their own hopes of moving on, alive.

Italy v Japan Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Italy 4/6, Draw 13/5, Japan 9/2

Online bookmaker Promotion
The usual excellent football betting promotion at Bet365 will still be on offer all summer long, as the continental champions battle it out at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Take some 0-0 Bore Draw insurance on all matches, with online bookmaker Bet365. If the game ends goalless, then the bookie will refund all losing bets placed on the Correct Score, Scorecast and Half Time/Full Time markets. Great coverage and new customers registering an account can take advantage of the generous welcome bonus, which pays out up to a £200 free bet. Bet365 will match the value of your initial deposit on a new account with a free bet bonus!

Italy v Japan Recommended Bet:
Going based on what the Italians produced in their opening match against Mexico, the European nation will be favourite to get through this. It was a beautifully executed free kick from Andrea Pirlo which opened the scoring, and after conceding an equalising penalty, former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli secured the win. That was an important three points and they should be able to build on it to mount a challenge on Brazil to win the group. The Italians are only at the tournament courtesy of Spain being European and World Champions, and their own finish as runners up at Euro 2012. Winning the group is massively important as it will likely mean avoiding Spain in the semi’s.

Italian coach Cesare Prandelli has made the Italians into a very dynamic, exciting unit. They press high up the pitch and don’t give opponents much time, and they have a terrific blend of youth and experience. Mario Balotelli is in fine form up front and the old master of Pirlo sitting deep in midfield making the whole Azzurri machine tick, is wonderful to watch. They really have all the tools to pull of a big surprise in this tournament. They really need to capitalise here on the quality which they produced in a quite open game against Mexico, to take out the Japanese. The Asian nation worked very hard during their opening match against Brazil. They had their flourishes, they produced some technical, good stuff in the final third of the pitch, but overall they still lacked a certain amount of bite.

They may not have enough goals in them to really challenge here, but they hussle and they harry well. The form of the Blue Samurai wasn’t great coming into the tournament and it is not often they go up against such high quality opposition. Just before heading to Brazil, they actually became the first side to quality for the 2014 World Cup, so they can use this as a big experience for next summer. There is still a lot of work needed to pull them up to really be able to compete, against the likes of Brazil and Italy. The Italians should have the class and composure to dictate this game and take their chances. Japan may be quite resilient in being broken down, but they should crumble.

An Italy/Italy Half Time/Full Time bet for a price of 5/4 looks a decent enough value to warrant a wager at online bookmaker Bet365.

The two nations have only met once before in the Head to Head stats. That meeting was all the way back in 2001, out in Saitama, Japan for an international friendly. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Form
Italy DWWDDW, Japan WLLDWL