Japan thrash Canada in international friendly

Canadian superstar Alphonso Davies scored an own goal against Japan.

Japan National Team played against the Canadian National Team at the Mizuho Blue Dream Match 2023 held at Denka Big Swan Stadium in Niigata on Friday, October 13th, with Aoi Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf) scoring two goals and Nakamura Keito (Stade Reims) scored for the second consecutive game, resulting in an easy 4-1 victory. We extended our winning streak with 4 or more points to 5.

With the start of the Asian qualifying rounds for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America scheduled for next month, this is a valuable opportunity for Japan to test out player combinations and deepen their tactical understanding.

Japan played with a 4-1-4-1 lineup, with Takuma Asano (VfL Bochum) in the starting lineup, Nakamura, who scored two goals against Turkey in September, on the left, and Junya Ito (Stade Reims). on the right, with Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco) and Tanaka playing in the inside half for the first time since last year's World Cup, and Wataru Endo (Liverpool FC) at the bottom of the midfield. Lined up on the final line from the right are Seiya Makuma (Cerezo Osaka), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Hiroki Machida (Union Saint-Giroise), and Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town FC), who returned after a year away. , and goalkeeper Keisuke Osako (Sanfrecce Hiroshima).

Japan played against Canada in Dubai in November, just before the start of last year's World Cup, and lost, but from the start of the match, Japan pressed the opponent with a series of powerful attacks, and the opponent managed to catch the ball that cleared Maekuma's right cross. Tanaka caught the ball and scored it to the left of the goal to take the lead. It was 2 minutes in the first half.

After that, Japan continued to explore the match with an unfamiliar combination of players, while Canada used midfielder Alphonso Davies, who plays for Bayern Munich, to attack from the left side.

In the 19th minute, Davis entered the penalty area after receiving a through ball from forward Jonathan David, and was knocked down by goalkeeper Osako as he tried to clear the ball, earning him a penalty. However, Osako blocked David's penalty kick with his foot. Not allowing a goal, Japan took this opportunity to go on the offensive again.

In the 26th minute, Nakamura headed Ito's cross, and two minutes later, he directly aimed a free kick that just grazed the crossbar.

https://twitter.com/afcasiancup/status/1712837143024804050

It wasn't until the 40th minute of the first half that the game moved again. Asano's cross from the left was met by Minamino on the near side, and the opposing defender's clear ball hit the goalkeeper and went into the goal, giving Japan an own goal and making it 2-0.

Two minutes later, Asano put pressure on the opposing defender, stole the ball, dribbled his way up to the front of the goal, and then passed it to Nakamura, who appeared to the left. The 23-year-old attacker received the pass with his back to the goal, turned sharply and swung his right foot into the net. Nakamura, who made his national team debut against Uruguay in March of this year, has now scored four goals in four games.

Japan entered the second half leading 3-0, and brought on Shogo Taniguchi (Al Rayan SC) from the start of the second half, maintaining control of the game through attack and aggressive defense.

Then, four minutes into the second half, they scored their fourth goal. Minamino, who received Nakayama's feed from the final line on the left side of the penalty area, returned the negative ball to the center, where Ito received it and passed it to Tanaka. Tanaka calmly poured the ball into the right side of the goal.

Immediately after that, Tanaka caught a clearance from the opposing goalkeeper and fired a shot, but it just missed the target and was not a hat trick.

Japan then switched to a 4-2-3-1 in the 61st minute by sending out Reo Hatate (Celtic) and Atsuki Ito (Urawa Reds). Furthermore, in the 72nd minute, Shun Kawabe (Standard Liège) and Kogo Furuhashi (Celtic) were sent on, and in the 83rd minute, Daiki Hashioka (Sint-Truiden VV) was brought on to move Maikuma one line up. He moved Ito to the left side and tried a new combination.

Canada, on the other hand, changed from a three-back to a four-back after the 60th minute, looking for a way to counterattack and strengthening their structure on the left side. Then, in the 89th minute, just before the end of the game, David received a pass from Davis and crossed to the left. Goalkeeper Osako parried the ball, but Junior Hoilett caught the ball with his left foot and scored a point.

The match ends like this. Although they conceded one goal in the end, Japan scored four goals and won.

Japan's next match will be on Tuesday the 17th, when they will face the Tunisian national team at the Kirin Challenge Cup 2023, which will be held at Noevir Stadium Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture.