Japan vs. New Zealand 7/31/21 Olympics 2021 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Japan is hosting New Zealand at Kashima Soccer Stadium in the Quarterfinals of the Olympics 2021 soccer tournament. Japan has been outstanding so far in this tournament with 3 wins, and only 1 conceded goal. New Zealand has won the first game in this tournament, but they lost the second one and tied the last one, but it was enough for them to get to the knockouts.

Japan is undefeated in their last 4 games, and they are now on a 3-game winning streak. Japan has scored 7 goals in 3 games so far, and they have been outstanding defensively with only 1 conceded goal. In their last game against France, Japan has had 52% of ball possession, 8 shots on goal, 2 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and a high 89% of the correct passes. France didn’t stand a chance in this game. Japan scored 2 goals in each half, and they have deservedly won this game 0-4. Kubo has been Japan’s best player so far in this tournament, and he has scored 3 goals, 1 goal in each game. I think Japan is a dangerous team, and I think they have the quality to go all the way, and if they do, it will be well-deserved.

New Zealand has won only 1 of their last 9 games, and that win was enough for them to get through the group stage. In their last game against Romania, New Zealand has had 62% of ball possession, 1 shot on goal, 8 corner kicks, 0 big chances created, and 82% of the correct passes. If New Zealand lost this game, they would be going home, but fortunately for New Zealand, this game has ended in a 0-0 draw, and New Zealand ended in 2^nd place. Chris Wood has scored 2 goals for New Zealand so far, while Cacace added 1 goal. Advancing through the group stage is a great success for New Zealand, but they won’t have a good time in this game. New Zealand will focus on defense here, but it will need to be a hell of defense if they want to defend against Japan. Whatever happens to New Zealand here, I think they can be proud of themselves because they were in a solid group, and they got through it successfully.

Japan is in fantastic form, they are scoring a ton of goals, and they have played some of the best soccer in this tournament. I just can’t give New Zealand a chance here because Japan is a much better team, with more depth, and they are in much better form. I’m siding with Japan on this one.