{"id":1440854,"date":"2026-03-28T20:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1440854"},"modified":"2026-03-28T20:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:14:20","slug":"post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland vs Japan stats and analysis: Japan&#8217;s well-oiled machine overwhelms Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Although it was only an international friendly, the chasm between Japan and Scotland was eye-opening.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Individually, Scotland possess some of the best players in teams like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/aston-villa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Aston Villa<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/liverpool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Liverpool<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/bologna\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bologna<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/napoli\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Napoli<\/a>. But they ran into a team in their eighth year under Hajime Moriyasu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moriyasu&#8217;s fingerprints are all over this Japanese team. Even though the players have changed over the past eight years. Their pressing, intensity and ability to find spaces were something of a lesson for a tired-looking Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Japan had seven shots on target to Scotland&#8217;s three. It paints a picture of the match with Scotland running low on ideas in-possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Samurai Blue<\/em> eventually ran out 1-0 winners thanks to Junya Ito&#8217;s late goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>In this article we&#8217;ll cover:<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-japan-s-intense-pressing-and-dropping-forwards\" data-level=\"2\">Japan&#8217;s intense pressing and dropping forwards<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-scotland-s-lack-of-ideas\" data-level=\"2\">Scotland&#8217;s lack of ideas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-japan-s-intense-pressing-and-dropping-forwards\">Japan&#8217;s intense pressing and dropping forwards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, there is an asterisk based on this being a friendly. But it is one of the last chances we have to figure our how good teams will be ahead of the World Cup this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan&#8217;s back five saw Joel Chima Fujita and Ao Tanaka constantly dropping in from the midfield two whenever Scotland&#8217;s attack pressed in a four. No one in a Scotland shirt bothered to pick either up, so they were able to receive the ball on the half-turn and drive up the pitch. And their gap in midfield was filled by one of Japan&#8217;s three strikers &#8212; particularly Kaishu Sano.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"662\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-1024x662.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1440858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-1024x662.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-400x259.jpg 400w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-309x200.jpg 309w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-93x60.jpg 93w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2-40x26.jpg 40w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28194104\/Japan-Scotland-2.jpg 1295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Scotland certainly treated this game as a friendly. And they will likely be more compact at the World Cup. But it was still impressive to see how much room Japan found in the half-spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Samurai Blue<\/em> knew exactly how they wanted to attack, and Steve Clarke did not counteract it. Instead of instructing his defence to come out of the back four to mark Japan&#8217;s dropping strikers, he took the chance of giving them the ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan also found so much space in the middle due to their width of their wing-backs, and how high up the pitch they were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fresh legs played a part too. Japan looked much more energised as the game went on, with every player bar the striker and goalkeeper substituted. Japan&#8217;s pressive was impressive, with Keisuke Gato and Fujita dropping slightly o cover Scotland&#8217;s midfield. A full-back was then pushed up to limit Scotland&#8217;s chance creation.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"656\" height=\"851\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1440857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1.jpg 656w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-206x267.jpg 206w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-154x200.jpg 154w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-46x60.jpg 46w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-116x150.jpg 116w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/03\/28193827\/Japan-Scotland-1-31x40.jpg 31w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/smarkets-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SBK betting offer<\/a>: Bet \u00a310, get \u00a340 in free bets<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>Eligible readers* interested in this SBK betting offer can follow <strong><a href=\"\/en\/go\/smarkets?q=gb-all-con-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">THIS LINK<\/a> <\/strong>or click the image below.<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/go\/smarkets?q=gb-all-con-wof-s-spo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1422500\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145.png 625w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-233x300.png 233w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-208x267.png 208w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-156x200.png 156w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-47x60.png 47w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-117x150.png 117w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/04\/06120811\/image-145-31x40.png 31w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">New UK customers only. Min \u00a310 first deposit using Debit Card or Bank Transfer. Place a bet of \u00a310 at min odds of 2.0 and get a \u00a310 Football Bet Builder token upon settlement. A \u00a310 Multiple token, a \u00a35 Horse Racing Multiple token and a \u00a35 Football Bet Builder token will be credited after 24 hours. A further \u00a310 Free Bet token will be credited 48 hours after the qualifying bet has been settled.\u00a0<\/i><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/help.getsbk.com\/hc\/en-gb\/articles\/21601526176669-UK-Welcome-bonus-Bet-10-get-40-in-Free-Bets-T-C-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/help.getsbk.com\/hc\/en-gb\/articles\/21601526176669-UK-Welcome-bonus-Bet-10-get-40-in-Free-Bets-T-C-s\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Full T&amp;Cs<\/a><\/i><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">\u00a0apply, 18+.\u00a0<\/i><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"><a class=\"c-link\" href=\"http:\/\/gambleaware.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"http:\/\/GambleAware.org\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">GambleAware.org<\/a><\/i><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">.<\/i><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-scotland-s-lack-of-ideas\">Scotland&#8217;s lack of ideas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Scotland lack a big man up front. A focal point. A Victor Osimhen type of striker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clarke did make some changes later in the game, but it felt too little, too late. Not to mention the fact that their out-of-possession game was far too easy to play around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The midfield joined the attack to press but the defence wouldn&#8217;t follow it up. It left an ocean of space in behind for Japan&#8217;s midfielders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scotland could not deal with Japan&#8217;s press, with Daizen Maeda on the left and Yukinari Sugawara on the right pushed up. As a result, Scotland had to send long ball after long ball up the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a midfield like John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and Scott McTominay, Scotland&#8217;s strength should at the very least be to get the ball from defence into attack. But as long as Clarke has been in charge, they have struggled to create many opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be different if Clarke instructed one to come extremely deep as a &#8216;floater&#8217;. McGinn would be good in this role, as he fills a similar job for Aston Villa, coming in from wide. Scotland can then rely on McTominary as the target man up front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Scotland want to do more than just participate at the World Cup, Clarke needs to take off the shackles and use some of his best assets. What does he have to lose?<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football betting tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although it was only an international friendly, the chasm between Japan and Scotland was eye-opening. Individually, Scotland possess some of the best players in teams like Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bologna and Napoli. But they ran into a team in their eighth year under Hajime Moriyasu. Moriyasu&#8217;s fingerprints are all over this Japanese team. Even though&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3574,"featured_media":1279925,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Japan scored a late goal to beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in what was a poor night for Steve Clarke. But how did they take the victory?","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1440854","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Scotland vs Japan stats and analysis: Japan&#039;s well-oiled machine overwhelms Scotland | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Japan scored a late goal to beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in what was a poor night for Steve Clarke. But how did they take the victory?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scotland vs Japan stats and analysis: Japan&#039;s well-oiled machine overwhelms Scotland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Japan scored a late goal to beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in what was a poor night for Steve Clarke. But how did they take the victory?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Squawka | EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T20:14:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/09\/25133753\/1279923_1279923_steve-clarke.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1582\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@squawka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dharnish Iqbal\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8c1fea89c7470cbb3b5a6a84a859c6ec\"},\"headline\":\"Scotland vs Japan stats and analysis: Japan&#8217;s well-oiled machine overwhelms Scotland\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T20:14:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-28T20:14:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\"},\"wordCount\":674,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/09\/25133753\/1279923_1279923_steve-clarke.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"accessibilityFeature\":[\"tableOfContents\"]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/\",\"name\":\"Scotland vs Japan stats and analysis: Japan's well-oiled machine overwhelms Scotland | Squawka | EN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-scotland-vs-japan-28-03-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2022\/09\/25133753\/1279923_1279923_steve-clarke.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T20:14:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-28T20:14:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"Japan scored a late goal to beat Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park in what was a poor night for Steve Clarke. 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