Japan and Sweden played to a 1–1 draw, a result that ultimately suited both teams, as the single point they earned was enough for both to advance to the round of 32.

Japan finished in second place in the group with 5 points and will face Brazil in the next round of the tournament, while Sweden will have to wait to find out who its opponent will be, given that the 4 points it earned will be enough to secure its qualification as one of the best third-place teams.

The match was evenly matched from the start, with Sweden coming close to scoring first in the 5th minute, when, after a superb team play, Bernardsson fired a low shot straight into Suzuki’s arms.

Japan’s first serious chance came in the 21st minute, with a header by Maeda sailing over the crossbar, while in the 27th minute, Hien left the game injured, before the best chance of the match so far arrived in the 45th minute, when Zetterström made a spectacular save on a curling shot by Nakamura.

Ultimately, the game was broken open in the 56th minute, when Doan split the Swedish defense in two with a superb through ball and Maeda finished it off neatly to make it 1-0! However, Sweden’s response was not long in coming, as in the 62nd minute Elanga equalized with a superb shot, and he was also the one who nearly gave his team the lead in the 90’+3′, but Suzuki had an answer both to his own attempt in the 93rd minute and to Isaac’s in the 94th, with the score remaining 1-1 until the final whistle.

Highlights of the match

Team lineups:

Japan: Suzuki, Sugawara, Seko (75’ Watanabe), Itakura (39’ Taniguchi), Ito, Nakamura (75’ Nagatomo), Kamada, Tanaka, Doan (67’ Ito), Maeda, Ueda (67’ Ogawa)

Sweden: Zetterström, Bernardsson (75’ Svensson), Lagerbielke, Hien (37’ Bergvall), Lindelöf (87’ Starfelt), Gudmundsson (88’ Nigrén), Strund (75’ Sema), Ajari, Elanga, Gokeres, Isak

*photo source: AP