Kick-off: 1130, 24/07/2021
Stadium: Sapporo Dome
TV: BBC One
Great Britain’s women made a winning start to their Olympic campaign but are expected to face a tougher test when they meet hosts Japan on Saturday.
Team GB began with a 2-0 victory over Chile – just as we predicted at 4/1 – and are top of Group A after the opening round of matches.
The lack of spectators limits the advantage that the hosts will have in Sapporo and we expect Hege Riise’s team to make it two wins out of two at 23/20 as our opening Japan vs Great Britain prediction.
A Look At Japan’s Betting Odds
Japan made a slow start to their home Games but a late equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw with Canada in their opening match.
The hosts fell behind to a Christine Sinclair goal in only the sixth minute but salvaged a point with an 84th-minute equaliser from Mana Iwabuchi, with Japan having earlier had a second-half penalty saved.
Japan are ranked 10th in the world and four places below England, who make up the bulk of the Great Britain squad.
England enjoyed a 1-0 win when the teams last met at the SheBelieves Cup last year while Japan also lost 2-0 to the same opponents during the group stage of the 2019 World Cup before being eliminated in the round of 16.
Team GB look to have the edge in terms of quality so another victory and under 2.5 total goals appeals at 15/4 in the Japan vs Great Britain odds.
A Look At Great Britain’s Betting Odds
Ellen White was England’s main goal threat at the World Cup and is off to a flying start at the Olympics too after her double against Chile.
White had already seen a goal disallowed for offside before she opened the scoring after 18 minutes, tapping in from close range after Manchester City team-mate Lauren Hemp nodded back Lucy Bronze’s cross.
From then, Team GB dominated but had to wait until 17 minutes from time for a second when Bronze’s excellent cross was acrobatically volleyed in by White from six yards.
GB coach Riise said: “We have been waiting for this game a long time and we were so eager to get started. Get a good start, get a win, keep them away from our goal, score two goals – 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.”
This will be a tougher test but 10/1 for another 2-0 win is hard to resist as our final Japan vs Great Britain prediction.
Additional stats
Last result:
JAPAN 1-1 Canada – Mana Iwabuchi
GREAT BRITAIN 2-0 Chile – Ellen White (2)
Head-to-head: N/A
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