Japan faces elimination from U-20 World Cup…1-2 upset loss to Colombia
Japan’s Under-20 soccer team suffered an upset loss to Colombia. The final result puts them in danger of being eliminated from the U-20 World Cup group stage.
Japan suffered a 1-2 upset loss to Colombia in their second Group C match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 at the Estadio Ciudad de la Plata in Argentina on Friday at 6:00 a.m. ET.
Japan, who had defeated Senegal earlier in the day, remained in second place in the group with three points (D1, L1), behind Colombia (six). However, they were unable to close the gap on third-placed Israel and fourth-placed Senegal (both with at least one point).
Japan will play its final group game against Israel on Aug. 28, with the Colombia-Senegal match taking place at the same time.
If Japan loses to Israel and Senegal beats Colombia, Japan will finish last in the group and be eliminated. Israel enters the tournament as runners-up after defeating France in the final of last year’s UEFA U-19 Championship.
The tournament will feature a round of 16 with the first and second place finishers from each group advancing to the round of 16, and the top four best-placed teams from each of the six groups.
It was Japan who struck first. After a short corner in the 30th minute, Japan rattled the Colombian net when Daichi Fukui’s cutback was met by Riku Yamane’s exquisite right-footed shot.
But Colombia equalized eight minutes into the second half, when Andres Salazar’s grounded cross from the left flank was finished by Yacer Aspiriya with a left-footed shot that rattled the Japanese net.
Six minutes later, they pulled one back. This time, a grounded cross from the left flank was saved by the goalkeeper, and Thomas Angel finished with a left-footed shot on the loose ball.
Pushed to the brink, Japan had a dramatic chance to equalize in the 38th minute. VAR showed a handball foul on Colombia and they were awarded a penalty kick (PK).
However, kicker Kuryu Masuki’s penalty kick hit the top of the crossbar and bounced high. Japan’s chance for a dramatic equalizer was wasted.
With a whopping 10 minutes of extra time, Japan made one last push for an equalizer, but Colombia’s defense held firm and the goalkeeper made more saves. In the end, the game ended with a 2-1 victory for Colombia. 메이저사이트