- Full Time
- 88'B. Nygren on for G. Gudmundsson
- 87'C. Starfelt on for V. Lindelöf
- 85'V. Gyökeres
- S. Taniguchi77'
- T. Watanabe on for A. Seko75'
- Y. Nagatomo on for K. Nakamura75'
- 75'K. Sema on for E. Stroud
- 75'D. Svensson on for A. Bernhardsson
- J. Ito on for R. Doan67'
- K. Ogawa on for A. Ueda66'
- 62'A. Elanga
- D. Maeda56'
- Half Time
- S. Taniguchi on for K. Itakura39'
- 37'L. Bergvall on for I. Hien
- 32'I. Hien
- Kick Off
-
1
Daizen Maeda1 - 2
Anthony Elanga1
- 1Daizen Maeda2
- 2Anthony Elanga2
- 3Alexander Isak2
- 1Daizen Maeda2
- 2Yukinari Sugawara2
- 3Ayumu Seko1
- 1Viktor Gyökeres1
- 2Ritsu Doan1
- 1Yasin Ayari3
- 2Keito Nakamura2
- 3Daichi Kamada2
- 1Ao Tanaka68
- 2Daichi Kamada66
- 3Gustaf Lagerbielke46
- 1Ao Tanaka3
- 2Keito Nakamura2
- 3Yasin Ayari1
- 1Yasin Ayari1
- 2Ayumu Seko1
- 3Yuto Nagatomo1
Japan and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw in a relatively flat tempo in Dallas.
Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead in the second half by latching onto a Ritsu Doan through-ball, but a quickfire equaliser from Anthony Elanga was enough to earn Sweden a point.
The first phases of the game were slow, but Japan arguably had the better of the game. Daizen Maeda was particularly involved, going down for a potential penalty shout that was waved away before misdirecting a header over the bar.
In reality however, it was a tense first half as both teams looked happy to play for a draw that in all likelihood would suit both teams. The first real chance of note came in the final seconds before injury-time with Keito Nakamura’s curling effort drawing a smart stop from Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
After the break however, that man Maeda did make the breakthrough in typical Japanese fashion. After a spell of near-constant pressure Ritsu Doan’s weighted through-pass found the run of the Celtic forward who took a touch and finished confidently to give the game it’s much-needed first goal.
Not to be outdone, Anthony Elanga hauled Sweden level not long. The Newcastle United man cut in from the right and curled a beautifully guided left-footed strike into the far corner to bring his side level.
Alexander Isak came close to completing a quickfire turnaround, but Zion Suzuki was able to get down and push the Liverpool forward’s low effort around the post.
Elanga had a late chance to win it, drawing another save from Suzuki with an instinctive effort from a tight angle. The goalkeeper was on hand again to deny Isak from the resulting corner with a reactive right-hand save.
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