Drawing with Senegal, Japan has a "wide open door" to continue
In the encounter within the framework of Group H, World Cup 2018, Japan was twice surpassed by Senegal but with a resilient fighting spirit, "Samirai Blue" excellently held their opponent to a draw with a score of 2-2.
| Source vnexpress.net |
Score:Inui (34'), Honda (78') - Mane (11'), Wague (71').
Senegal started the match better. In the 11th minute, Youssouf Sabaly had a dangerous shot that caused goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to push the ball into Sadio Mane's foot and straight into the Japanese net, opening the score for the African representative.
Having conceded an early goal, Japan was forced to push up their formation to attack. Meanwhile, Senegal proactively slowed down the tempo to wait for an opportunity.
In the 34th minute, Yuto Nagatomo accelerated on the left wing into the penalty area before passing the ball to Takashi Inui who controlled the ball for a moment before making a dangerous right-footed shot into the far corner, defeating goalkeeper Khadim N'Diaye, equalizing the score 1-1 for Japan.
In the second half, the team from the land of the rising sun played evenly with Senegal, although they did not have the same good physical foundation as the African representative. Inui's shot hit the crossbar of goalkeeper N'Diaye's goal in the 64th minute.
However, when Japan was playing well, they unexpectedly conceded a goal. In the 71st minute, Moussa Wague fired a decisive shot in the penalty area, giving goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima no chance to block, raising the score to 2-1 for Senegal.
Not accepting defeat, coach Nishino Akira instructed his players to attack. In the 78th minute, Inui continued to leave his mark when he created an opportunity for Keisuke Honda to score, tying the score at 2-2 for Japan.
With this result, Japan and Senegal will qualify for the next round if they get 1 point in the final match of the group stage.
Starting lineup:
Japan(4-2-3-1): Eiji Kawashima; Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Gen Shoji, Yuto Nagatomo; Gaku Shibasaki, Makoto Hasebe; Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa, Takashi Inui; Yuya Osako.
Senegal (4-1-4-1): Khadim N'Diaye; Moussa Wague, Kalidou Koulibaly, Salif Sane, Youssouf Sabaly; Idrissa Gueye; Ismaila Sarr, Alfred N'Diaye, Badou Ndiaye, Sadio Mane; M'Baye Niang.
