World Cup: Group F

A draw—but Japan and Sweden advance

Sweden and Japan split the points.(Bild: AP/Sam Hodde)

A modest 1-1 draw was enough for Japan and Sweden to qualify for the World Cup round of 16 on Thursday night into Friday. Daizen Maeda (56') and Anthony Elanga (62') scored the goals in Dallas in a match with few scoring chances. Japan, which finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands, will now face Brazil in the knockout round as early as Monday, while Sweden advances as one of the eight best third-place teams.

The 70,137 spectators in Dallas were treated to anything but a thrilling spectacle in the first half. Both sides played with noble restraint; after all, a draw was enough for both teams to advance. The slightly greater pressure was on Sweden, which had one fewer point. But the Scandinavians, too, refrained from launching major attacks. The only noteworthy chance before halftime was squandered by former LASK player Keito Nakamura, who was denied by Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Zetterström. Zetterström had replaced Kristoffer Nordfeldt following the 1–5 loss to the Netherlands.

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But the match was at least about to pick up some momentum. Maeda rewarded Japan’s stronger efforts with the 1–0 goal, thereby also rousing the Swedes, who would have faced a nerve-wracking finish—or even elimination—had they lost.

Bad luck for Sweden—the crossbar!
Elanga promptly equalized just six minutes later to make it 1–1, sparking a lively final stretch in which Sweden continued to press and even hit the crossbar in stoppage time. It didn’t change the outcome, but the Swedes still don’t know exactly who their next opponent will be. Possible opponents include Germany, France, Norway, and Switzerland.

“We achieved what was important: conceding as few goals as possible, not losing, and taking home at least one point,” said Japan’s goalkeeper Zion Suzuki. “The fact that we can now carry this unbeaten streak into our next match against Brazil is definitely a positive.” Elanga was also satisfied in the end. “I really wanted to win today, but I think, in the end, that one point was enough. And I’m really proud of the whole team,” explained Sweden’s now two-goal scorer at this World Cup.

Japan – Sweden 1–1 (0–0)
Dallas, 70,137, Referee Cisneros (ESA)

Goals: 1–0 (56.) Maeda, 1–1 (62.) Elanga

Japan: Z. Suzuki – Seko (75. Watanabe), Itakura (39. Taniguchi), H. Ito – Sugawara, Tanaka, Kamada, Nakamura (75’ Nagatomo) – Doan (66’ J. Ito), Maeda – Ueda (66’ Ogawa)

Sweden: Zetterström – Lagerbielke, Hien (37' Bergvall), Gudmundsson (87' Nygren) – Bernhardsson (75' Svensson), Lindelöf (87' Starfelt), Ayari, Stroud (75' Sema) – Elanga – Gyökeres, Isak

Yellow cards: Taniguchi and Hien, Gyökeres