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With Uruguay expected to beat South Africa in the other concluding match of Group D, this looks a lot like a playoff for second place in the group. The draw would probably suit both teams: assuming South Africa doesn't beat Uruguay, a point apiece in this match would see Italy to the round of 16 as the Group D runner-up, and Japan likely would ease into the knockout rounds as one of the better third-placed teams.
Indeed, since Group C will be concluded by the time this game kicks off, the teams will have a pretty good idea of whether a draw sees them both through or not. If the third-placed team in Group C has three points or less, then four points would guarantee the Group D third-placed team a place in the round of 16 (because we already know that the third-best team in Group A, Argentina, only has three points - and a third-placed team only needs to be better than two others in the group stage to make it through to the knockout rounds).
So there's a chance these teams quietly settle on a stalemate. Results from the Group C games and the opening sequences of this one will tell us how much Italy and Japan really care about whether they finish second or third in their group.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Uruguay | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | South Africa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 |
Per livesoccertv.com, here's where to find the game if watching from the USA: