Our prediction for this match:
After beating both Myanmar (10-0) and Tajikistan (4-1) in the World Cup qualifiers, Japan will be looking to give fans yet another reason for celebration when they take on Serbia at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe on Friday. The Samurai Blue have been impressive in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and we are positive that they will stick to their attacking style of play. A man to watch in the home team will be Takumi Minamino, who has been scoring goals for fun of late.
Serbia, on the other hand, played out a 1-1 draw with Jamaica in their last warm-up game. Since the Eagles will be without star players Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Tadic, and Filip Kostic in Friday’s friendly, we believe that there is a big value in betting on the hosts. Wolfsberger attacker Dejan Joveljic is widely expected to lead the line for the visitors.
Highlighted Player (Shoya Nakajima):
Born in Hachioji, Tokyo on August 23, 1994, Shoya Nakajima is a Japanese footballer who plays for Porto as a winger. Nakajima is a product of his hometown club Tokyo Verdy and he continued playing for the capital club at senior level, scoring 6 goals in 29 appearances for the Ajinomoto Stadium Chofu outfit.
In 2014 he moved to fellow capital club FC Tokyo and after ending his loan spells with the likes of Kataller Toyama and Portimonense, he signed a permanent deal with the Portuguese club. After scoring only one goal in seven appearances for Al-Duhail, Shoya Nakajima moved to Porto in 2019, signing a five-year deal with the Primeira Liga outfit.
Nakajima made his debut with the Japanese national team on March 23, 2018 against Mali, scoring the only foal for the Samurai Blue in the 1-1 draw with the African side. His preferred foot is right and his main position is right midfield.
Highlighted Team (Serbia):
Serbia have been playing as an independent nation since 2006. The Serbs made it to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals and despite defeating star-studded Germany in the group stages of the showpiece tournament in South Africa, they eventually failed to book their place in the last 16. The Eagles, though, failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as they experienced all sorts of problems in their qualifying group.
A number of top-class footballers played for Serbia and former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is regarded as one of the best players in the history of the Serbian national team. Vidic scored two goals in 56 appearances for Serbia and he announced his retirement from the national team on 24 October, 2011.
The Eagles play their home game at Stadion Rajko Mitic and it has to be noted that they defeated Czech Republic 3-1 in their first international game under the name of Serbia. Serbia play their home games in red shirts and red shorts, while the colour of their away kit is white.