In the closely fought match against Mali, the Japanese team experienced ups and downs, but finally beat their opponents by a narrow margin of 1-0, realizing their second consecutive title and locking up a place in the last eight after one round of matches. In view of the team's early advancement, the Japanese team implemented a large-scale rotation in the match against Israel, with many core players being placed on the bench. Even so, the half-strength Japanese team did not drop out of the game, and their offense repeatedly threatened to form a threat, but always missed the goal.
In the second half of the match, the Japanese team sent in their main players one after another, and their offense gradually increased. In the 61st second of injury time, the Japanese team showed a subtle combination. Keiyoon Sato received a smart pass from a teammate inside the penalty area, and instead of stopping the ball, he passed it directly to the goal. Substitute center forward Hosoya followed up with an easy shot to give Japan the first breakthrough and a 1-0 lead! As the game clock ticked down, the Israeli team was unable to come back.
In the three matches, Japan's offense was on fire, scoring seven goals, while the defense was rock solid, shutting out their opponents. Both offense and defense were perfect, and thus they quickly climbed to become a strong contender for the gold medal. However, in the upcoming quarterfinals, they will meet another champion team - Spain. Whether they can get through this time is still unknown.
