At the Tokyo National Stadium, a fierce battle began at 18:00 on June 2, as Japan hosted Paraguay in the 2022 Kirin Cup. The battle was a tumultuous one, with Japan coming out on top by a score of 4-1. Takuma Asano and Dai Kamada scored in the 36th and 42nd minutes to increase the lead to 2-0, and although Gonzalez pulled a goal back in the 59th minute, Japan scored two more goals in the 61st and 85th minutes to secure the victory.
Japan advanced to the World Cup Finals for the seventh consecutive time after finishing second in Group B of the Asian 12 in the World Qualifying Tournament. In the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, Japan is in Group E with Spain, Germany and Costa Rica/New Zealand. Paraguay, on the other hand, was only ranked eighth in the South American zone of the World Qualifying Tournament and unfortunately failed to make it to the Qatar World Cup stage.
[Race Track Highlights]
The match began with a close call in the fifth minute when Don Yasutoshi's sweeping shot from the left side of the box was deflected by Rojas in a flying tackle.
In the sixth minute, Hiromu Endo's poke from the right side of the penalty area was accidentally kicked wide, leaving a sobering sigh of relief.
In the 11th minute, Mitaka Omao passed Rafael Benitez and crossed the ball back to Kamata Oda, who hit the post but failed to score.
In the 27th minute, a shot from the left side of the box by Mitaka MMA caused Rojas to come off his feet and narrowly missed the goal.
In the 29th minute, Leaf-Rose's cold shot from outside the box was flicked on by Schmidt.
In the 30th minute, Oscar Romero's free kick was on target and once again was valiantly deflected by Schmidt.
In the 36th minute, Genki Haraguchi grabbed the ball in the center circle and sent a direct shot from the left rib, Takuma Asano took a one-two punch and easily rubbed the ball to give Japan a 1-0 lead!
Japan took a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute when Don Yasutoshi's quality cross from the right was headed in by Kamata Daiichi at the front of the penalty area!
In the 59th minute, Oscar Romero grabbed the ball from the right side and dipped it in, and Gonzalez blasted a shot through the clouds from the right side of the arc to bring Paraguay back to 1-2.
In the 61st minute, Japan took a 3-1 lead when Shogo Taniguchi slotted a shot from the left side of the box!
Japan extended their lead 4-1 in the 85th minute when Kamata Daiichi crossed from the left side of the field and Tanaka Bea fired a long-range shot from the top of the arc.
In the end, Japan beat Paraguay by a huge margin of 4-1.
[Both lineups]
Japan (433): 23-Schmidt; 26-Yohki Ito, 22-Maya Yoshida (46'20-Yuta Nakayama), 3-Ashigo Taniguchi, 2-Minoru Yamane; 15-Hyunao Mitaniabashi (82'19-Hengyu Furuhashi), 6-Kohru Endo (46'4-Itakura Hwang), 8-Genki Haraguchi (62'17-Bi Tanaka); 9-Dai Kamada, 18-Takuma Asano (46'24-Daeran Maeda), 21-Yasu Don (71) -Genki Haraguchi (62'17 - Bea Tanaka); 9 - Daichi Kamada, 18 - Takuma Asano (46'24 - Dairan Maeda), 21 - Yasutoshi Don (71'11 - Kenyoung Kubo);
Substitutes: 1 - Kawashima Nagasaki, 5 - Nagatomo Yuto, 12 - Gonda Shuichi, 14 - Ito Junya, 25 - Ueda Eisei, 28 - Osako Keisuke
Paraguay (4231): 22 Rojas; 15 Liv Ross, 3 Aldrete, 5 Zarate, 2 Benitez; 18 Cubas, 20 Sanchez (65'16 Lucena); 10 Almiron, 21 Oscar Romero (65'19 Medina), 7. Gonzalez; 9-Avaros (65'11-Angel Romero);
Substitutes not on the field: 1 Silva, 4 Azamendia, 8 Ortiz, 12 Espinola, 14 Martinez, 17 Morel, 23 Coleman
