Italy vs Japan Prediction & Betting Tips - Men's Olympic Tournament

Prediction published on 03/08/2024, 19:07  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 04/08/2024 at 03:02 in Men's Olympic Tournament Predictions

World number two Italy will take on sixth-ranked Japan in the second quarter-final of the Men’s Volleyball competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday afternoon. Gli Azzurri topped Pool B during the group stage while Ryujin Nippon qualified as one of the best third-placed teams. Here’s our match prediction for this quarter-final duel.

Italy were the pick of the sides during the group stages as they were the only team to secure all nine points on offer, while also losing the fewest number of sets in the competition (2). 

Gli Azzurri kicked off the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Brazilians and were far too good for minnow Egypt in game two where they claimed a comfortable 3-0 victory. 

While many would have expected the win against Egypt to be their best performance, we feel the final match result against world number one Poland was their best showing, as they outclassed the White and Reds on attack and defence to seal a 3-1 win. 

The number two-ranked side in the world are now on a five-match winning streak and have won seven of their last 10 in all competitions,

Meanwhile, Japan were involved in a hotly contested Pool C and ended with four points behind the USA and Germany. They got close in their opening match with the Eagles but came up short 3-2, before the USA secured a 3-1 win over them in game 2, making their final match a must-win. 

Ryujin Nippon rose to the challenge, though, beating Argentina 3-1 to secure a qualification berth as one of the two best third-placed teams alongside Brazil. They now hold a record of seven wins and three losses in their last 10 games in all competitions.