Following their match against Mali, Japan was presented with both challenges and opportunities, narrowly defeating their opponents by a 1-0 margin, and their brilliant record of two consecutive victories allowed them to lock up their place in the last eight in the early rounds. Given that the team had already advanced, they adopted a massive rotation strategy against Israel, with many of their star players dropping to the bench. Even so, with a half-strength lineup, Japan did not let their opponents take advantage of the situation, and their offense repeatedly created threats, but always came up short.
After the change of sides, the Japanese team gradually sent in their main players, and the advantage at the attacking end began to show. In the last moment of injury time, Japan showed a subtle tactical coordination. Keiyoon Sato received a precise ball from a teammate in the penalty area, and he did not hesitate to pass the ball directly to the goal. Substitute center forward Hosoya followed suit and easily put the ball into the empty net to give Japan the first break in the deadlock and a 1-0 lead! As the game clock ticked down, Israel was unable to reverse the unfavorable situation. In the end, Japan won 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals with a clean sweep of the group stage!
In three consecutive matches, Japan showed great offensive firepower, scoring a total of seven goals, while the backline was rock solid, conceding zero goals, a perfect performance in both offense and defense, and they quickly rose to become a strong contender for the gold medal. However, in the next quarter-final, they will face the equally powerful Spain. The answer to whether they can make it through this time is yet to be revealed.
