Japan reach Russia six days before Colombia tie

Kazan (Russia), June 14 (IANS) Japan's national football team arrived in this southern Russian city where they will carry out their last training sessions for the FIFA World Cup, just six days ahead of their debut match against Colombia.

Japan's national team, who are the last of the 32 national teams to arrive in Russia, landed at Kazan International Airport at 6:30 pm on a flight from Austria on Wednesday night, where they defeated Paraguay 4-2 in a friendly on Tuesday, reports EFE news agency.

Japan has played three matches in preparation for the World Cup, winning once and losing 2-0 two times, first in Yokohama against Ghana and then in Lugano against Switzerland.

Coach Akira Nishino's team is one of the three squads that will be based in Kazan during the World Cup, along with Colombia, its first opponent in Group H, and Australia.

Japan will play their debut match against Colombia in Saransk on June 19, before playing against Senegal in Ekaterinburg on June 24, and ending the group phase with a match against Poland in Volgograd on June 28.