Head-to-head· Australia beat Japan in their only World Cup meeting to date - a 3-0 victory in 2007.
· Last month, these teams met in Round 2 of the 2015 Asian Championship. Australia prevailed with 3-1.
· This continental match-up marked their first encounter at a major tournament in almost six years. Japan beat Australia in straight sets in their previous international meeting at the 2009 Asian Championship.
Japan· Japan failed to win back-to-back World Cup matches after a 3-1 defeat to United States on Wednesday. They won their opener against Egypt (3-2).
· The last time Japan won two of their first three matches of a World Cup campaign was in 2003 when they won their first three before failing to win any of the remaining eight.
· Masahiro Yanagida was Japan's top scorer against United States with 14 points, scoring his team's only ace that match.
Australia· Australia are yet to win a set this campaign after straight set defeats against former World Cup winners United States and Italy.
· The have now lost eight of their last nine World Cup matches, including the last three.
· Australia are hoping to record their fifth win in the competition. One of their previous four wins came against today's opponents Japan, their only straight set win in the World Cup (2007).