Japan v Great Britain betting tips: Team GB favourites to beat Olympic hosts
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Japan v Great Britain betting tips and preview
Britain made an excellent start to the group stage with a 2-0 victory over Chile and they are 6/5 favourites to beat Olympic hosts Japan on Saturday morning.
The 2011 world champions started their Group E campaign with a 1-1 draw against Canada, the 2012 and 2016 bronze medallists.
A win for Hege Riise’s side will secure a spot in the quarter-finals, so let’s look at the markets and odds in our Japan v Great Britain betting tips.
Match Odds
Ellen White’s double gave Britain – primarily made up of England players – a thoroughly deserved victory despite a lack of warm-up matches in the build-up to the tournament and Riise was impressed with what she saw in Sapporo.
The former Norway and USA coach said: “It’s a good statement for the games coming up. How we started the game was exceptional. The first 30 minutes were the best we’ve played and we kept it going.
“It wasn’t pretty for the whole game but we fought and we managed to get the result we wanted. I asked for a good start and we had a great one.”
💬 "I feel really proud to open the Olympics with #TeamGB."
Two goals and plenty of pride for @ellsbells89 on the opening day of our #Tokyo2020 adventure
— Team GB (@TeamGB) July 21, 2021
White also had a goal ruled out for offside so her confidence will be high ahead of the clash with the 2012 silver medallists for whom Mina Tanaka had a poorly-taken penalty saved early in the second half before they secured a point six minutes from time thanks to Mana Iwabuchi’s shot from outside the area.
England defeated Japan 3-0 to win the SheBelieves Cup two years ago and the hosts looked second best against Canada so a similar outcome is expected for Great Britain who are 27/10 to win to nil or 15/8 by under 3.5 match goals.
Talking Tactics
Riise, who won gold as player with Norway in 2000, went with a 4-5-1 formation against Chile, with Manchester City striker White leading the line and world player of the year Lucy Bronze, captain Steph Houghton, Rachel Daly and Millie Bright playing at the back.
Britain’s high-energy midfield looked impressive against Chile and they passed the South Americans off the park, so Japan could be in for a tough morning.
Japan coach Asako Takakura deployed a 4-4-2 against Canada in which Iwabuchi and Yuika Sugasawa led the line.
Match Info
Where: Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan
When: 11:30, Saturday 24th July
How to watch: BBC 1
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
