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Sports Mole previews Friday's International Friendlies clash between Japan and Paraguay, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Japan will be looking to bounce back from a winless September when they host Paraguay in Friday's friendly. 

The Samurai Blue will aim to build on their strong 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, while Paraguay, who also qualified for the 2026 finals, will be hoping to continue their recent run of impressive results. 

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Match preview

With an eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance secured, Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu will use the upcoming international break to give some key players experience. 

An impressive qualifying campaign saw them lose just once in their ten games, that 1-0 defeat to Australia coming after they had qualified.  

More recently, September saw Japan draw 0-0 with Mexico and lose 2-0 to the USA, the latter result seeing Alejandro Zendejas and Folarin Balogun find the net.

Despite missing some key players, Japan's attack has been in fine form in competitive action, scoring 30 goals in AFC World Cup Qualifiers, 14 more than any other side. 

They will however be tested heavily, taking on a Paraguay side that have kept three clean sheets in six games. 

As for the South Americans, they also secured their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a recent 0-0 draw with Ecuador in September. 

Looking to build on their strong form, the visitors have lost just once in their last 13 games. 

Their recent run includes impressive wins over Uruguay and Argentina, with a trip to Asia to face the four-time Asian Cup champions coming up next. 

The two sides have met 11 times in their history, with Paraguay most recently losing 4-1 to the Samurai Blue in 2022. 

The Guaranies head into the friendly on the back of an impressive run, hoping to build on recent results against a high-scoring Japan side. 

Japan International Friendlies form:

Japan form (all competitions):

WWWWDL

Paraguay form (all competitions):

WDWLDW

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Team News

Japan's October squad sees a few notable absentees, with Karou Mitoma not included. 

The winger was substituted late in Brighton & Hove Albion's recent Premier League match with Chelsea due to an ankle injury and missed the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, ruling him out of the squad. 

The hosts have also been dealt a blow with the withdrawal of Liverpool's Wataru Endo, who has pulled out with an unspecified issue.

For the South American side, Omar Alderete keeps his place in the squad after scoring the winner in Sunderland's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest. 

Antonio Sanabria, his country's top scorer in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with four goals, retains his spot and is expected to lead the attack. 

Alexis Duarte, Diego Leon, Lucas Romero and Diego Gonzalez have all been called up and could make their debuts. 

Japan possible starting lineup:

Osako; Hashioka, Taniguchi, Seko, Nagatomo; Tanaka, Sano; Kubo, Kamada, Minamino; Maeda

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Fernandez; Velazquez, G. Gomez, Alderete, Leon; Sosa, D. Gomez, Bobadilla; Sanabria, Almiron, Ramos

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We say: Japan 1-1 Paraguay

 

Japan have been impressive going forward, scoring freely in qualifying, but they face a Paraguay side with a solid defensive record, having kept three clean sheets in their last six matches.

We believe both teams are likely to score and prove too solid in defence to force a win for either side. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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