Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. For Japan, it was a loss to remember. A defeat on Thursday could mean Japan’s exit from the competition. I hate to urge a team to play cautiously, but Japan should not be leaving itself short at the back to press for a goal when a draw is good enough for it to advance. Though it is the eliminated team, Poland is a (very) slight favorite with bookmakers. Poland has not made the second round of a World Cup since 1986. Poland having the better of the play right now. He hits it very hard and very, very high. And keeper Kawashima was on hand in any case. • “We gave Polish people a lot of joy in the last four years. Of course, the Japanese know they are currently advancing, but a goal by Senegal would change that. With the game won, Poland was happy to do the same. • Poland was outplayed by Senegal and Colombia, surrendering five total goals and scoring only one, by Grzegorz Krychowiak. To say that Poland have struggled in the World Cup would be an understatement. Here's why they are fighting for a whole continent of more than 1.2 billion people... James Rodriguez is the star attraction in Group H and after not starting the first game, he showed his class against Poland. As for Poland, it cannot advance, but surely would love to leave Russia with a good result. Nishino may reward his sides' resolute performance against Senegal by staying with the same starting XI, though Keisuke Honda has impressed from the bench in the two previous games, so he will hope for a start. Japan will advance if it can hold on to the draw here. So what do each team need to qualify? It was a strange ending to a World Cup game. But for Japan, the game matters. He’ll be replaced by Osako, a proven goal scorer. Poland's Jan Bednarek scores their first goal against Japan. Whereas Japan, the current leaders of Group H, have everything to lose. The Poles have left a lot to be desired so far in this World Cup, and they have only one game left to salvage something worthwhile. Japan will be looking to close out the group stage with a win in order to secure their place. A win would secure top spot, but depending on Japan's result, a draw could be enough. Robert Lewandowski missed a chance to score Poland's second goal against Japan. As for everyone’s favorite category, clearances, Japan leads, 15-11. The sixth tiebreaker in the rule book is the so called “fair play” rule: whichever team had the fewest yellow and red cards in the tournament would advance. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Goalkeeper: 22 Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Defenders: 5 Jan Bednarek (Southampton), 18 Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), 15 Kamil Glik (Monaco), 3 Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Midfielders: 6 Jacek Goralski (Ludogorets Razgrad), 11 Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), 10 Grzegorz Krychowiak (Paris St Germain), 21 Rafal Kurzawa (Gornik Zabrze), 19 Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Forward: 9 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich). But Senegal and Japan would be deeply, deeply tied for the second spot. Poland in white, The new look Japan team in blue. Grosicki’s header is stopped by a fantastic one-handed diving save by Kawashima! But if you like clearances, blocked shots and interceptions, this may be your favorite of the tournament. Tough Cup for Lewandowski. This is their first World Cup appearance in 12 years, and they are in danger of disappearing with a whimper. There's no arguing with Keisuke Honda's contribution to the Japanese World Cup campaign thus far. Poland could give Japan the upset needed to through their World Cup hopes into turmoil, they will just need to play much better than they have in their last two outings. The Blue Samurai have racked up four points from their first two games, scoring four goals along the way. Radamel Falcao finally got his sought-after World Cup goal when Juan Quintero put the forward through, whilst the fit-again Rodriguez's impressive vision came to the fore as his ball sliced through the Polish defence and Juan Cuadrado finished coolly to round off a much-improved Colombian performance. Grosicki heads a ball wide. Japan vs Poland – Thursday, June 28, 15:00BST/16:00CEST/17:00 MSK – Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia. The impressive Takashi Inui brought his side on level terms with a curled strike ten minutes before the break. Fabianski punches it away. Bednarek scores off the free kick by Rafal Kurzawa. This caution seems a little risky. [Up Next: Follow our live coverage of England vs. Belgium]. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Defenders: 5 Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray), 20 Tomoaki Makino (Urawa), 22 Maya Yoshida (Southampton), 19 Hiroki Sakai (Marseille), 21 Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Midfielders: 16 Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), 11 Takashi Usami (Augsburg), 7 Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Forwards: 9 Shinji Okazaki (Leicester), 13 Yoshinori Muto (Mainz).