Japan 2-2 Senegal
Japan were far from favourites coming into Russia. While there are a good number of Japanese players already doing their trade in Europe, World Cup 2018 betting odds still saw the Blue Samurai as cannon fodder for the other nations in their group.
However, they surprised the millions who watched their World Cup 2018 match against Senegal as they come away with a point. Brilliant efforts from Keisuke Honda and Takashi Inui made sure that their hopes of making it to the knockout stage for the third time.
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane and Senegal were surely disappointed with the way they have played against the Japanese. They weren’t able to capitalise on their pace to outscore the Japanese and have to settle for a draw.
They still have their destinies on their hands as they look past this exciting fixture.
Highlights of the game
Both nations come into this match with much fanfare after pulling off fantastic upsets against Poland and Colombia, the two supposed favourites to make it out of the group stage. Moreover, their fans also gained positive buzz from the international football media for their admirable efforts to clean up the arena after their games.
Senegal got into the attack early as Ismaila Sarr, M’Baye Niang and Youssouf Sabaly hounded the Japanese defence for the first ten minutes of the match. Akira Nishino’s team had quite a task in trying to contain Senegal’s pacy attackers.
Aliou Cisse’s men soon opened their scoring account on 11 minutes. Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly fired a long ball into the left side of the Japanese third, A cross was fired to the box and a Senegal player fired a ball to Metz keeper Eiji Kawashima. The keeper made a curious decision to punch the ball in front of a waiting Sadio Mane. The Liverpool attacker didn’t need a cue and kicked the rebound into the net.
However, Japan slowly found their groove and began connecting great attacks against the Senegalese. Their efforts culminated in a top-quality goal in the 34th minute. Galatasaray left-back Yuto Nagatomo blitzed in from the left to the penalty box to collect a long ball. He immediately passed the football to Inui, and the Eibar midfielder collected the ball and fired a beautiful finesse shot past Khadim N’Diaye.
The first half ended tied at 1-1 as both teams failed to make the most of the remaining time to get ahead once more,
The second half saw a more even playing field for Japan. While they still had problems dealing with the lightning-quick pace their opponents were displaying, Japan were quickly finding their football and were making great progress.
There was a great chance for Japan to lead in the 60th minute when Genki Haraguchi made a nice cross from the right to Yuya Osako. He made a fantastic run to free himself from the defence and engage N’Diaye in a one-on-one. However, the Koln striker missed his shot, much to the chagrin of the Japanese crowd at the Ekaterinburg Arena.
Another chance appeared when Osako corralled a long ball onto the left side of the box in the 64th minute. He flicked the ball behind him to a rushing Inui, and the man immediately fired the ball to the far post. Unfortunately for Japan, the ball hit the bar.
Senegal got back in front when Sabaly fired a nice cross from the left to the middle. Niang flicked the ball to the open right side where a rushing Moussa Wague easily scored his first goal in the World Cup final.
Nishino quickly brought in Honda and Shinji Okazaki into the match in an attempt to turn the tide for the Japanese. Honda, the ever-reliable rock for the Blue Samurai, immediately made his impact known as he fired a beautiful pass from Inui into an N’Diang-less net. The Japanese were in a frenzy after such a fantastic goal was scored.
Senegal tried their best to score but weren’t able to crack the Japanese defence. Meanwhile, Japan had control of the game until the final whistle. Everyone at the arena were somewhat disappointed that neither team won the game but were surely entertained with the quality showcased in the match.
Key statistics
Both teams played physical football befitting of a World Cup match, and referee Gianluca Rocchi’s pocket was busy as he brought out the yellow card five times in this match.
Honda, who said Japan can fool Senegal ahead of this game, is the first Japanese man to score in three World Cup finals.
Possession was fairly equal, and the Terangan Lions had more shot attempts than their opponents. However, the Senegalese attackers were denied five times by Kawashima.
Japan’s history at the World Cup has been interesting. They have consistently qualified since 1998 and have made the knockout stages every other World Cup. Following this trend, Japan should be able to make it past the group stages in this World Cup as they missed out on the 2014 tournament.
What’s next?
Japan will be squaring off against Poland in their final World Cup match. Poland are definitely ranked higher than they are, but the Samurai Blue don’t need to win this match. A draw here will send them to the Round of 16.
Like Japan, Senegal only need a single point to get them through the group stages. Colombia will not be easy opponents, but their spectacular form under Cisse should give them more than enough of a fighting chance.
For more World Cup 2018 updates, always keep your eyes peeled on SBOBET Blog.
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