Guardian match report: Japan 0-1 Poland
Stuart James was our man in the Volgograd press box trying to make sense of it all as Japan took a calculated gamble and closed out defeat against Poland in surreal and potentially foolhardy style.
Rate! Rate! Rate! You can rate the performances of each of the players involved in that fiasco out of 10. I’m not sure you’ll need any of the numbers to the right of No5, apart from a few exceptions. Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima had a decent performance, while Kamil Grosicki, Jan Bednarek, Kamil Glik and Rafal Kurzawa were among the few Poland players to at least make an effort.
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What this means for England: If they top group G, they will play Japan in the next round. If they come second to Belgium, they will face Colombia.
Group H: Colombia advance to the knockout stages as group winners after their win over Senegal. Japan go through in second place on the “fair play” rule.
Irony alert: Japan go through on the “fair play” rule, despite putting in the most unsporting ten-minute shift of any team in this World Cup to date. Well done, Fifa. Well done.
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Match report: Japan 0-1 Poland
Here’s our snap on-the-whistle report from a very strange game in Volgograd.
Full-time: Japan 0-1 Poland
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over and Poland have won. Good news for Japan though - Colombia have beaten Senegal in Samasa. Japan go through to the knockout stages courtesy of a better disciplinary record than the Sengalese. Two yellow cards was the difference.
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90+3 min: The referee waves at the Japanese players, apparently urging them to do something with the ball other than tap the ball between themselves. It’s been a farcical and surreal end to a very bad game.
90+2 min: The game’s being played at a walking pace. Japan’s players continue to pass the ball amongst themselves, inside their own half. Poland’s players are making no effort whatsoever to win it back and the neutrals in the stands are going berserk.
90 min: We’re in the final minute, Japan have the ball but are making no attempt to go forward and Poland are making no effort whatsoever to take it from them. “It’s testimonial stuff now,” says the BBC’s commentator. He’s not entirely correct – testimonials are supposed to be entertaining.
89 min: In the interests of comedy entertainment, I really hope Senegal score.
88 min: Both sets of players have downed tools and are playing down the clock. I’m not sure the Poles know what’s going on, but they’re happy with their 1-0 win. Japan are content to lose 1-0 and hope Senegal don’t get another goal against Colombia. Meanwhile in the stands, the neutrals are getting very antsy with the entente cordiale being played out before them.
85 min: Japan are playing a dangerous game here, trying to keep possession without doing anything with it in a bid to run down the clock. Poland are happy for them to continue doing so, but a Senegal goal against Colombia would mess things up for Japan. This has been a weird game. Very weird.
Japan 1-0 down. Senegal 1-0 down. Japan currently going through on fewer yellow cards. The only fitting way for this group to end is for Japan to start wasting time, thinking they're safe, only to then get booked.
— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) June 28, 2018
83 min: Japan have two yellow cards fewer than Senegal and as things stand, that could mean the difference between the Asian side staying in the competition and their African counterparts going home.
81 min: Makino goes perilously close to poking a Bereszynski cross from the right into his own net. From the ensuing corner, Poland head over. Japan substitution: Muto off, Hasebe on.
80 min: Poland substitution: Slawomir Peszko on for Rafal Kurzawa, who has been one of Poland’s better players.
77 min: Correction: as things stand - Japan would still go through with Colombia ... on the fair play rule. Senegal would miss out.
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76 min: Meanwhile in Samara, Colombia lead Senegal by one goal to nil.
Another nail in Japan’s coffin
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73 min: Poland counter-attack. Grosicki curls a low cross from the left to the feet of Lewandowski on the edge of the Japan six-yard box and the striker skies the ball over the bar. That’s a hideous miss; scoring was the easier option.
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71 min: Japan attack down the left flank, in desperate need for a goal. They win a corner, through the dogged persistence of Inui, the substitute.
66 min: Tomaoki Makino is booked for a shove on Lewandowski and Poland find themselves with a free-kick similar to that from which they scored, but on the other side of the pitch. Grosicki curls the ball in, but Japan clear courtesy of Southampton’s Maya Yoshida.
65 min: After an hour of this game, Poland have finally sparked into life on the back of that goal. Japan make another change: Takashi Usami off, Takashi Inui on.
63 min: The camera cuts to the stands, where assorted Japan fans are consulting their phones and tablets to see what’s going on in the Samara Arena.
61 min: Southampton’s Jan Bednarek scores his first ever international goal and it’s a good one. Poland won a free-kick on the inside-left channel and Rafal Kurzawa curled the ball across the face of goal towards the far post. Rujnning towards goal, Bednarek struck the ball past Kawashima with a deft side-footed effort. As things stand, Colombia and Senegal will be going through, while Japan will exit the tournament.
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GOAL! Japan 0-1 Poland (Bednarek 60)
Game on!!! Bednarek scores with a side-footed volley from a Poland set-piece. Japan are in trouble.
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58 min: Japan take the corner and a game of head-tennis in the Poland penalty area ensues. The ball stands up for central defender Tomoaki Makino, who attempts an ambitious bicycle-kick. He connects, but sends the ball wide from a narrow angle.
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57 min: Glik concedes a corner as he blocks an Usami cut-back from the byline.
53 min: Japan counter-attack and Usami picks up the ball on the left flank. He cuts inside and with men up in support, unleashes a shot from distance. It’s blocked and with Japanese players committed deep in Poland territory, it’s the European side’s turn to launch a counter-attack. It ends with Eiji Kawashima being forced to dart off his line and smother the ball at the feet of Zielinski, who was trying to get on the end of a Grosicki cross from the right.
For a keeper who many were expecting to be dropped in the wake of two unimpressive performances earlier in this tournament, Kawashima has done well today. Perhaps he has taken confidence from his manager’s show of faith in him - not only did Akira Nishino select the goalkeeper, he also gave him the captain’s armband.
51 min: Usami curls a dangerous cross from the left into the Japan penalty area towards Gotoku Sakai. Bereszynski heads clear for Poland.
50 min: Poland throw-in, deep in Japan territory. Bereszynski concedes a stupid foul on Usami in the Japan penalty area and gifts possession back to Poland’s opponents. Awful stuff.
49 min: Poland win a throw-in deep in Japan territory and immediately work the ball back to their goalkeeper. The whistles from the crowd ring out again.
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47 min: Shinji Okazaki goes down injured and is substituted 90 seconds into the second half. The Bundesliga-based Yuyo Osaka, who has just moved from Cologne to Werder Bremen, replaces him.
Second half: Japan 0-0 Poland
46 min: Japan get the ball rolling for the second half after a quick mid-game huddle. There are no changes in personnel on either side. A Poland goal would liven things up no end, but it’s difficult to see where it might come from. They’re playing with the air about them of men who couldn’t care less if they lose this match.
An email: “Compare Poland’s effort to South Korea, who also were already out of the tournament and beat Germany,” writes Richard McGahey. “Lots of pride for the Koreans, really unimpressive from the Poles.”
Group H standings: With both matches scoreless at the moment, Japan and Senegal will progress to the knockout stages as things stand, while Colombia and Poland will go out.
Half-time: Japan 0-0 Poland
A first half to forget comes to an end. Japan are looking good to get the point they need from a Polish side whose only interest seems to be in getting this game out of the way and boarding the plane home.
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45+1 min: Poland’s players pass the ball around inside their own half, running down the clock. They have nothing to play for, but their lack of ambition is quite jaw-dropping.
45 min: There’ll be a minute of added time.
43 min: Good covering from Usami, who breaks up a promising looking Polish counter-attack. Poland win a corner deep in Japanese territory, down by a corner flag. Within seconds, they’ve worked the ball back to the feet of Lucasz Fabianski. In the stands, the unrest starts, with the paying punters whistling and jeering the dross they’re being forced to watch.
40 min: Usami crosses into the Poland penalty area, where Okazaki gets a flick with his head. The ball goes out for a corner off a Polish defender. Hiroki Sakai is grappled to the ground while waiting for the corner to be taken and complains to the referee.
Not for the first time in this match, Adam Nawalka, the match officials, warns the Polish defenders about wrestling their men at corners, rather than just leaving them to it and awarding a penalty against one of them when the corner is taken.
39 min: Japan win a corner. Usami curls the ball into the Poland penalty area, where Fabianski claims confidently.
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36 min: Poland win a corner, which Grosicki sends into the mixer. Shinji Okazaki heads clear. Rafal Kurzawa follows up with a long range effort, but it’s high and wide. That corner came from a through ball that at least ventured into the same postal district occupied by Lewandowski, who has never scored a World Cup goal and must be getting very fed up with the lack of service being provided by his team-mates.
34 min: After good build-up play from Japan, Asami tries a shot from a tight angle on the right side of the six-yard box. Fabianski parries the ball straight in front of him and is lucky that it hits one of his own team-mates and rebounds back to him. Muto was lurking and in a good position to slot home any rebound that came his way.
32 min: Good save from Eiji Kawashami, who scampers across his line to claw away a goal-bound header from Grosicki, who’d got his head on a cross from the right. The ball looked like it might have crossed the line, but goal-line technology proves otherwise.
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30 min: Robert Lewandowski is cutting a very forlorn figure on the occasion of his 98th cap. Poland aren’t struggling to get the ball to their skipper.
28 min: Glik concedes a corner, putting a Sakai cross out of play. Bednarek clears the delivery with a meaty header.
24 min: The match is being played at a very pedestrian pace, more like the second half of a friendly than a World Cup match with Japan’s future in the competition riding on it. Meanwhile in Samara, it’s scoreless between Senegal and Colombia, where the African side were awarded a penalty, only to have it overturned after a VAR consultation.
20 min: For Poland, Bartos Bereszyynski curls a ross towards the far post trying to pick out Kurzawa. Hiroki Sakai heads the ball out for a corner. Poland take it and Japan goalkeeper is forced to dive to his left and save a Grosicki header. The referee blows for a foul.
18 min: Yoshida tries to play Muto in behind with a decent ball, but the striker is unable to control it properly and Poland clear.
17 min: “No, Tokyo definitely wouldn’t agree with you mate,” writes Robert Horsfield. “Train in 7am - lucky if you’re home for midnight. The ‘salaryman’ culture though they do enjoy a post-work drink. Great place to be though and if you visit I’ll take you to the best Irish pub in town, An Solas. Strange to change so many but some interesting ones. Okazaki will run his socks off as always and Muto can be slick on his day. Worried about Makino though at the back. Always got a rash challenge in him - wouldn’t surprise be if he concedes a VAR assisted pen.”
16 min: Another shot for Japan, with Sakai firing straight at Fabianski.
15 min: Fabianski is forced to save a Yoshinori Muto strike from the edge of the area.
12 min: Some serious pressure from Japan, who go close when Muto is gifted possession on the edge of the penalty area. Passing up a decent shooting opportunity, he plays the ball left to Nagatomo. He crosses for Shinji Okazaki, who connects with a diving header under pressure from Bednarak, but sends the ball wide.
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11 min: Yuto Nagatomo, who sounds a little bit like he’s named after a famous plaza in the Die Hard series, crosses into the Poland penalty area, but Moto is unable to connect.
8 min: Usami picks up a pass and dribbles towards the Poland penalty area, where he’s dispossessed by Kamil Glik, who’s making his first appearance in this tournament for Poland after recovering from injury.
7 min: Japan embark on a counter-attack with Takashi Usami galloping forward with the ball at his feet. He runs into traffic and the sortie comes to an abrupt end.
6 min: Poland looking slightly the more settled of the two teams so far. They play a bit of keep-ball, passing it among themselves as they search for an opening.
5 min: Good defending from Gaku Shibasaki, who clears to prevent Robert Lewandowski latching on to a through ball into the Japan penalty area.
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3 min: A slow enough start, as both teams find their feet. Japan manager Akira Nishino has a long conversation with his midfielder Gaku Shibasaki, who is being micro-managed over by the touchline.
1 min: An early scare for Poland, as Lukasz Fabianski is forced to sprint to the edge of his penalty area to beat Takashi Usami to a long ball from deep.
Japan v Poland is go ...
1 min: Poland kick off, their players wearing, white shorts and white socks. Japan’s wear blue shirts, shorts and socks. Poland play it long and immediately win a throw-in halfway inside the Japan half.
Not long now: The teams emerge from the tunnel to the bass-tastic soundtrack of Seven Nation Army and line up either side of the match officials. It’s time for the national anthems.
An answer to our question about Japan’s team selection ...
Japanese reporters at the game saying that Japan have heavily rotated due to hot weather and wanting to use the freshest possible players.
— Bethnal Y and G (@BethnalYG) June 28, 2018
An email: “Commuter trains much quieter on the ride home tonight as people finished work ‘early’ (9pm compared to the usual near midnight finishes) and the supermarket’s beer shelves are pretty light,” writes Rob in Tokyo. “The 11pm kick off means there’ll be some heavy heads in the Tokyo offices tomorrow morning. Let’s hope they’re at least smiling though I’m rather concerned given the recent performances of other teams already out this week.” Midnight finishes? What time do they start? I’m not sure Tokyo would agree with me.
Stuart James is at the Volgograd Arena for the Guardian and is equally puzzled by Japan’s team selection.
Don't claim to be an expert on Japenese football but find it odd they've got all four WC goalscorers on the bench, including their best player here, Inui. Strange also that Kawashima, the keeper who has been at fault for 2 goals, keeps his place... Japan to win comfortably then. pic.twitter.com/jmqgJtZbQE
— Stuart James (@StuartJamesGNM) June 28, 2018
Japan’s team selection is very odd: They need a result in this match against Poland, but have made six changes from the team that drew with Senegal. SHoji, Haraguchi, Hasebe, Kagawa, Inui and Osako all sit this match out, several of whom are considered their best players. Disharmony in the ranks? Illness? Some other reason? We’ll find out soon enough, no doubt.
Japan v Poland line-ups
Japan: Kawashima, Hiroki Sakai, Yoshida, Makino, Nagatomo, Yamaguchi, Shibasaki, Gotoku Sakai, Okazaki, Usami, Muto.
Subs: Higashiguchi, Ueda, Shoji, Honda, Endo, Haraguchi, Kagawa, Inui, Osako, Hasebe, Oshima, Nakamura.
Poland: Fabianski, Bereszynski, Glik, Bednarek, Kurzawa, Krychowiak, Goralski, Jedrzejczyk, Zielinski, Lewandowski, Grosicki.
Subs: Szczesny, Pazdan, Cionek, Milik, Linetty, Rybus, Teodorczyk, Blaszczykowski, Peszko, Piszczek, Kownacki, Bialkowski.
Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)
Early team news: Despite needing a result to progress, Japan have made six changes to the side that drew with Senegal. Poland make five changes to the team that got thrashed by Colombia last time out. We’ll have the full line-ups for you very shortly.
Some pre-match listening: Max Rushden waves a Cross of St George while Jonathan Wilson discusses his orthotic insole issues, John Brewin riffs on England’s simultaneous superiority/inferiority complex, Barney Ronay talks about what he’s doing on his holidays in Russia and I recite the lyrics to Craig David’s Seven Days. It’s the World Cup Football Daily podcast and you can download it in all the usual pod places.
Group H standings
- Japan and Senegal require a point each in their respective games against Poland and Colombia to qualify for the last 16.
- Colombia will qualify with victory over Senegal. If Colombia win Japan would need to lose by fewer goals than Senegal to qualify. Colombia can also qualify with a draw if Japan lose, because their goal difference is superior.
- If Japan and Senegal win by the same score, then the group winners will be decided by yellow cards - Japan currently have three and Senegal have five.
Group H: Japan v Poland
Volgograd is the venue for this Asia v Europe encounter between Japan and Poland. Having lost their two opening games, the Poles cannot qualify, but may well invoke the spirit of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Peru and South Korea by going into their final match with nothing (or in the case of South Korea, almost nothing) to play for except pride and going on to show the world just how precious a commodity they consider it to be. Japan need a point to secure qualification for the knockout stages, where they could meet England. Meanwhile in Samara, Senegal take on Colombia in this group’s other game. Kick-off in both is at 3pm (BST), but stay tuned for team news and build-up in the meantime.
