Here’s our on-the-whistle report, with Amy Lawrence’s to follow:
Full-time: Japan 2-2 Senegal
An entertaining game ends with a fair result that leaves these countries level with four points at the top of their group. Japan deserve credit for fighting back twice from being a goal down; Senegal looked in the first half like they would win quite comfortably but, ultimately, were guilty of being a bit too conservative and making a couple of bad defensive errors (as were Japan for Senegal’s first goal, in particular). The Group H qualification spots remain up for grabs.
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90+3 min: Osako throws himself in front of the ball to block an acrobatic shot by Koulibaly after a bout of aerial pingpong in the Japanese box.
90+2 min: Freekick to Senegal 10 yards inside the opposing half. Mané launches it into the box. But Japan clear.
90+1 min: There will be at least three more minutes.
90 min: Ndoye booked - wrongly, in my view - for supposed felonious use of the elbow in an aerial challenge with Yoshida. “Group H features four evenly matched teams from four continents playing terrifically entertaining matches,” chirps Greg Phillips. “”No idea who’ll qualify. This is what the World Cup should be.”
88 min: Senegal have the ball in Japan’s half but don’t know what to do with it when confronted by a massed Japan defence.
Japan substitution: Usami on, Inui off
Senegal substitution: Diouf on, Niang limps off. It’s a pity we haven’t seen Keita Baldé, who could introduce ingenuity up front: Senegal haven’t shown enough of that so far.
83 min: You have to applaud Japan’s persistence here. For long periods, especially in the first half, it looked like they could not hurt Senegal but they’ve kept going, kept building and looking for openings, and now they’re looking the more vibrant side: Senegal look a little jaded and short of ideas - except for Sarr, the most likely source of more trouble for Japan.
Senegal substitution: Ndoye on, Badoua Ndiaye off. No tactical change there, probably just a react to some sloppy passing by Ndiaye in the last few minutes.
79 min: Worth noting that Okazaki, a substitute for Haraguchi, contributed to that goal by putting pressure on Ndiaye as the goalkeeper tried to cut out the cross. Not enough pressure to justify the keeper’s misjudgement, mind.
GOAL! Japan 2-2 Senegal (Honda 78)
The substitute levels it for Japan, thanks in part to a terrible misjudgment by the Senegalese goalkeeper. Ndiaye came for a cross but flapped at it, and when the ball was played back across goal Honda controlled it and picked his spot from eight yards!
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77 min: Mané dabs a pass through to Niang on the right. The striker fires the ball across the face of goal but there’s no one there to take advantage.
74 min: Corner to Japan. Honda delivers into the six-yard box. Senegal’s defending is unconvincing and the ball pops out from the copse of bodies to Osako, who tries to drive it into the net from nine yards. But it’s blocked by a defender (Koulibaly, I think).
Japan substitution: Honda on, Kagawa off.
GOAL! Japan 1-2 Senegal (Wagué 70)
The 19-year-old right-back wallops a shot into the roof of the net from a difficult angle after running on to Sabaly’s low cross!
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68 min: Mané and Badou Ndiaye discuss what to do from the freekick wide on the right. Mané runs over the ball and Ndiaye essays a low pass into Niang at the edge of the area. Japan are wise to that ploy and the intercept it easily. Sané looks disgusted, no doubt wondering why the heck Senegal didn’t flight the ball into the box, where Senegal have a clear heigh advantage, not least thanks to Sané. That’s jsut the latest of the bad deliveries from ye olde Gaindé.
67 min: Sarr flies down the right again - and is fouled again. Inui cops a deserved booking.
Senegal substitution: Kouyaté on, Alfred Ndiaye off.
65 min: Terrific break down the left by Japan. Osako, at the left-hand corner of the Senegalese box, performs a slinky drag-back before backheeling the ball into the path of the overlapping Inui. Inui’s sweet curling shot beats Khadim Ndiaye ... and bounces out off the crossbar!
64 min: Pressure from Japan. They got in behind Sabaly with a chipped pass. Senegal had to scramble to clear the cross.
62 min: Sarr bounds into the Japanese box and goes down upon contact with a defender. I’d like to see a replay of that: my first impression is that Sarr ran into the defender so the ref was right not to award a penalty.
61 min: A slack pass by Badou Ndiaye in his own half. Japan seize on it and hare forward. A low cross from the right runs right into the path of Osako, who must score from six yards! But excitement gets the better of him, he takes his eye of the ball and kicks at fresh air! What a let-off for Senegal! Osako won’t sleep tonight.
60 min: During the break in play while Shoji gets his face washed, Cissé summons Mané to the sideline and transmits instructions with some urgency. I imagine he’s telling Senegal to show similar urgency in their pressing.
59 min: Niang booked for catching Shoji with his hand as both challenge for an aerial ball. Silly decision by the referee: Niang’s movement was natural and the brush unintentional.
58 min: There’s a break in play while Hasebe receives treatment to a bloodied nose. But there shouldn’t be, since Hasebe is not on the pitch. Just get on with it!
55 min: The Senegalese threat is growing. Two crosses cause panic in the Japanese box before the ball comes to Niang, who has a bang from 20 yards. Kawashima gets down to clasp it safely.
54 min: Inui helps out Nagatomo and there’s strength in numbers, as Sarr finds out when he attempts to dribble past the pair.
52 min: Mané pounces on a headed clearance by Yoshida and offloads to Badou Ndiaye, who tries to curl it into the top corner from the edge of the area but sends his effort high over the bar. He’s no Jesse Lingard.
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51 min: Wagué, age 19, shows wiliness beyond his years to snuff out a Japanese attack.
50 min: Inui flicks on a header in the Senegalese box to Osako, who nods it goalward. He couldn’t get enough power in it to bother Ndiaye. But taht was shoddy from Senegal, allowing Japan to get two free headers in their box from a humdrum pass from deep.
48 min: Japan clear the corner at the near post following another imperfect delivery.
47 min: Mané threads a nice pass through to Sarr, who curls in a low cross from the right. Yoshida does well to turn it behind for a corner.
46 min: Before the second half starts Senegal’s players converge in the middle of the pitch for a huddle. Guess they forgot to mention something in the dressing room.
Half time commentary on Malian TV #JPNSEN pic.twitter.com/xHOgOj3BM6
— Jennifer O'Mahony (@jaomahony) June 24, 2018
Half-time: Japan 1-1 Senegal
Aliou Cissé will be annoyed at the break, I imagine. Senegal should be in front: they were in charge of the game for the first half hour but became a little passive and ended up conceding. That was a reward for Japan’s persistence but they should not have got such encouragement. If Senegal get back on the front foot - expressing more creativity and improving their setpiece deliveries - they should win.
45 min: Senegal waste a promising freekick from the left. “Senegal playing in white today - maybe, just maybe, because the Japanese don’t differentiate between Senegal’s green and their blue,” suggests George Garrett. “See this, they traditionally have one word for both colours.”
43 min: Badou Ndiaye with a corner from the left. It’s a low in-swinger, flicked on at the near post by Sané and cleared by Japan. Senegal’s deliveries from setpieces have been substandard so far.
42 min: Yoshida tries another long crossfield ball to Inui, who again tried to dash in unnoticed behind the Senegalese defence. Sané is again well positioned and nods it away.
39 min: Badoua Ndiaye bisects the Japanese defence with a nice turn and pass to Niang. The striker tries to flip the ball first time past the advancing keeper from 18 yards but it’s a weak effort and Kawashima is able to bat it away. A chip would have been a wiser choice from the striker.
38 min: Alfred Ndiaye sweeps the ball wide to Sarr. Most of Senegal’s attacks have come from him or Wague down the right. But this one is ended abruptly by a good challenge from Nagatomo.
36 min: Buoyed by that goal, Japan suddenly look more spry and they’re hunting the lead. There’s renewed spring in their step and Senegal are being stretched a little more at the back.
GOAL! Japan 1-1 Senegal (Inui 34)
A bolt form the blue by the boys in blue! It came from a good move, in fairness, Nagatomo, who’s been trotured by Sarr all match, made a clever run from the back to beat the offside trap and receive a pass over the top. His first touch isn’t great but the ball runs to Inui, who jinks and then curls a low shot past a couple of defeders and into the bottom corner from 15 yards.
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31 min: Senegal are very disciplined and patient. They are allowing Japan to have the ball in safe places, maintaining their shape and then pouncing when they choose, wining back the ball and launching counter-attacks. A second goal for them would kill this game.
29 min: Yoshida tries a long diagnonal pass to Inui, who had made a smart run behind Sané. But Sané read the pass and heads it away.
27 min: Niang takes a corner from the right. Alfried Ndiaye meets it about seven yards out but his header crashes into a defender, and Japan scramble the ball to safety.
26 min: Shibasaki pulls back Sarr as the 20-year-old bursts down the right again. Freekick to Senegal and, surprisingly, no booking for Shibasaki.
25 min: Senegal are in charge here even when they don’t have the ball: Japan can’t lay a glove on them.
22 min: Japan try to take a short corner but Senegal rumble their game and tear forward on the counter-attack. Wagué curls a cross in from the right to the excellent Sarr, whose tries to hook a volley into the net from 10 yards. The keeper saves.
20 min: Shibasaki curls a freekick in from the left wing. Koulibaly heads clear. Their winning goal agaisnt Colombia came from a setpiece but I’ll be surprised if japan repeat that here.
18 min: Japan are putting together some moves now, all in front of Senegal but encouraging for the boys i blue, nonetheless.
15 min: Japan mount their best attack of the match so far, flooding the Senegalese box with players. The ball is cleared as far as Hasebe, who lets fly from 25 yards with a crisp low shot. Sané is well positioned to make a decisive block.
12 min: Inept Japanese defending contributed to that goal but their errors could be considered to have been forced by Senegal’s pressure. As expected, the west Africans have been far superior so far.
GOAL! Japan 0-1 Senegal (Mané 11)
That had been coming. The attack started with Sarr down the right. Wagué then hung up a cross to the far post. Haraguchi botched an attempted headed clearance. Sabaly shot at goal and the keeper bungled his attempted save, punching the ball against Mané, who watched with glee as it rolled into the net!
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10 min: Mané foils a Japanese attack on the edge of his own area. Then he serves Sarr with on the right and the young Rennes winger gallops forward again. Nothing comes of his break this time but Senegal look far more dangerous than Japan.
7 min: Sabaly makes another incursion down the left but Japan defend well. Both Senegal’s full-backs have got forward to good effect already.
6 min: Niang’s delivery from the corner is exactly what Japan would have hoped for. They whack it clear. Sabaly retrieves it and has a pop from over 25 yards. It takes off towards the moon.
5 min: Excellent work by Koulibaly and Sabalay to foil a Japanese attack down the right and then launch one of their own. Niang wins a corner and Japan begin to treble again: Senegal have far more tall players than them.
3 min: Sarr makes a powerful raid down the right wing and wins a corner. Japan clear it with difficulty. This has been a strong start by Senegal.
2 min: Senegal exert early pressure. Wagué pings in a fine low cross from the right. Niang just fails to connect but it runs to Mané, who can’t get the ball under control eight yards out because of vital harassment by Yoshida. Japan exhale.
1 min: Three, two, one ... we have kickoff! Japan take the first touch, but who will have the last laugh?
#Senegal should continue from where they left their 1st game. More of the same #goSenegalGo #CelebrateAfrica #WorldCup
— Kalusha Bwalya (@KalushaPBwalya) June 24, 2018
“Hello from Shanghai,” hollers Peng Mui. “Despite our countries’ economic and political disagreement, lots of our football fans admire what Japan has achieved . They sent players to Brazil, and hired Brazilian coaches, and now they are world cup regulars. We recently started copying this mode by hiring Italian managers (including Lippi as our national team manager). It’s working like magic now. Italians have joined us as World Cup watchers within just two years!”
Here come the teams. Samurai Blue are wearing blue, handily. Senegal are all in white, which will be good ones for their fans, many of whom have long considered their green kit to be unlucky - ind you, the win over Poland may have put paid to that.
Shinji Okazaki, interviewed on the BBC, makes this nice point: “It’s not about playing a Japanese style of football, it’s about playing the best that Japanese players can play ; there’s a subtle difference.” Sometimes talk of philosophies and style is just blather. Meanwhile, Senegal are warming up with a lovely dance routine. Now that’s a fun way to wed functionality and culture.
If you’d like to follow this match through Japanese text commentary, then this will make you happy:
Wolof commentary is not available the moment. Baal ma.
Japan are unchanged from the victory over Colombia in their first match, while Senegal have made one alteration to the lineup that started their win over Poland, with Badou Ndiaye included instead of his Stoke City team-mate Mame Birame Diouf. That should make Senegal even stronger in midfield, lessening the chance of Japan being able to conjure between the lines. But Badou Ndiaye drives forward well, too, so it’s not a negative move by Cissé.
Teams
Japan: Kawashima; Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo; Hasebe, Shibasaki; Haraguchi, Kagawa, Inui; Osako
Subs: Ueda, Honda, Endo, Okazaki, Usami, Higashiguchi, Muto, Yamaguchi, Ohshima, Makino, Sakai, Nakamura
Senegal: Ndiaye; Wagué, Koulibaly, Sané, Sabaly; B Ndiaye, A Ndiaye, Gueye; Sarr, Niang Mané
Subs: Diallo, Mbodj, Mbengue, Sow, Kouyaté, Diouf, Ndoye, Konaté, Sakho, Baldé, Gassama, Gomis
Referee: G Rocchi (Ita)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to this showdown at the summit of Group H. Senegal and Japan won their opening games so one of them could take a big stride to the last 16 by winning here. The Teranga Lions would be most people’s bet because they’ve got more flair and far more power, height and speed, as well as being cleverly organised and very determined under Aliou Cissé. But Japan’s manager, Akira Nishino, has a cunning plan for upsetting the odds. “I’ve told my players to grow by five centimetres and gain five kilograms in weight,” he joked at yesterday’s press conference before switching to a more serious tone and saying: “It’ll all be down to controlling the ball ... I can’t see any weaknesses in Senegal’s team.” He should talk to Keisuke Honda, as the midfielder told journalists: “We’re going exploit [Senegal’s] weaknesses – obviously I’m not going to tell you what they are but we’ll find some.” While concealing their own? Unlikely.
Senegal’s supposed weaknesses were not seen in the win against Poland, when the goalkeeper, Khadim Ndiaye, did not put a hand or foot wrong; the 19-year-old full-back, Moussa Wagué, betrayed no sign of inexperience; and Idrissa Gana Gueye overcame wan recent form to produce a solid performance. It would have been nice to see the Senegalese flash more of their creative skill but Keita Baldé stayed on the bench, along with Badou Ndiaye, and Sadio Mané played efficiently without sparkling. That was enough to beat Poland and will probably suffice against Japan. That’s my view, anyway. If you think otherwise, please feel free to explain yourself. Let’s be having you!
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