FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 : Japan vs Zambia Match preview

Japan vs Zambia is gonna be a very pivotal match for the whole of Group C. In the first match of Group C, Spain defeated Costa Rica by 3 goals to nil and made a statement of how difficult it's gonna be for any team to beat Spain. So here's the match preview of Japan vs Zambia so we get an idea of who could be the second team to advance to the Round of 16 stage other than expected winner of Group C, Spain.

Read also : FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: USA vs Vietnam Match Preview, Team News, Possible Lineups, and Fantasy football prediction

Japan vs Zambia

Match Details

Date : 22/07/2023 (Saturday, July 22)

Venue : Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand 

Time : GMT - 3:00 pm

IST - 12:30 pm

Live streaming : Fancode and DD sports

Match Preview

Japan will be looking to keep their record intact of not losing in the first match of the World Cups since 1995 whereas Zambia, in their debut year will be hoping to surprise Japan with the help of their marquee forwards.

The former World Cup champions would like to bring back lost glory to Asia with the help of Futoshi Ikeda. They're going through a mixed bag of form at the moment but is hoping to start fresh with a positive attitude in their first match of the tournament. 

Japan, after getting knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2019 against eventual runners up Netherlands, will be looking to start off strong against an inexperienced Zambia team.

Despite being the only debutants in the group, Zambia could leave a lasting impression as their team have a huge potential and quality players. Their road to the World Cup was very interesting. Zambia reached the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Senegal on penalties.

They received a huge confidence boost in their last World Cup match against Germany, where they beat the two time World Champions by 3 goals to nil. They might be ranked 77 in the World but could surprise teams just like that.

Japan vs Zambia holds a huge importance in terms of Round of 16 qualification. With Spain expected to win all their group stage games, this game is gonna decide the fate of both the teams playing in it. It's still very early to predict anything but Japan might be able to use their experience in a better way and defeat Zambia.

Japan vs Zambia Possible Lineups

Zambia women possible lineup

Musonda; Belemu, Musase, Mweemba, Tembo ; Lubandji, S. Banda, Katongo;  Chitundu, Kundananji, B. Banda

Japan women possible lineup

Yamashita; Miyake, Kumagai, Minami; Shimizu, Hasegawa, Naomoto, Nagano, Endo; Ueki, Tanaka