Zion Suzuki made four saves, including two big ones in stoppage time to preserve the tie, as Japan finished in second place in World Cup Group F with a 1-1 draw against Sweden on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.
Japan (1-0-2, 5 points) finished as the runner-up to Netherlands (2-0-1, 7 points) and will face Brazil on June 29 at Houston in round of 32. The Dutch earned a 3-1 win over Tunisia (0-3-0, 0 points) on Thursday.
Sweden (1-1-1, 4 points) moved to the top of the third-place standings and also earned a spot in the round of 32 against an opponent to be determined.
Japan’s Daizen Maeda scored in the second half before Sweden’s Anthony Elanga tallied his second goal of the World Cup. Sweden goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom finished with two saves.
Following a cautious defensive first half that saw the teams combined for just three shots on goal, Japan broke through to take a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute. Ritsu Doan hit Maeda cutting into the middle of the box with a through pass, and Maeda drilled a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
However, the lead was short-lived. Elanga, a forward who plays for Newcastle United, tied it six minutes later with a left-footed blast from the right edge of the penalty box that sailed into the far left side of the net. Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres picked up an assist on the score.
Sweden nearly took the lead three minutes later when forward Alexander Isak of Liverpool booted a right-footed shot from the middle of the box that Suzuki batted away with a two-handed save in front of the right post.
Suzuki made a pair of grade-A saves in second-half stoppage time to keep Japan level. The first came on a right-footed shot by Elanga from the right edge of the 6-yard box. The attempt was going toward the far corner before Suzuki swatted it away. Moments later, Suzuki deflected an Isak close-in header on a corner over the crossbar.
Swedish defender Isak Hien had to be helped off the field with an apparent left hamstring injury near the end of the first half. Hien went down in the penalty box after stretching his leg out to try and deflect a crossing pass by Yukinari Sugawara. Twenty-year-old midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, came on for Hien with captain Victor Lindelof of Aston Villa sliding back into Hien’s spot.
–Field Level Media
