While its fortunes hinge on how Colombia fares against Nigeria, Japan is still poised to turn in its best performance of the Rio Olympic Games against Sweden on Wednesday.
"In the first game, we were uptight especially in defense," Japan coach Makoto Teguramori said. "We managed to score twice in the second game, and we were resilient."
"I think the players have finally gotten used to things at the competition. Given our condition at the moment, I'm convinced we can take the ball off them when we need to. I think what we need to worry about is what to do when they let us have possession."