Japan and Sweden have both qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockouts after the two played a 1-1 draw at the Dallas Stadium to end Group F as the second- and third-ranked teams, respectively. Japan were content with the draw as they seemed to sit back in the first half. A draw would mostly have done the same as a win unless they would have beaten the Swedes by a big margin to topple the Netherlands and top the group.ย The Blue Samurai’s vocal supporters kept the atmosphere alive, waving flags and chanting relentlessly among the 70,137 spectators at the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys as the goalless contest stretched into the second half.
However, the Samurai Blue opened up the scoring sheets when Daizen Maeda scored one in the 56th minute. Ritsu Doan fed Maeda with a good ball in the box as the Celtic forward scored with a right foot to beat Jacob Widell Zetterstrom at the goal. The Swedes were in trouble as a loss would have kept them to three points in third and a goal difference of -1, which could have made their chances of progressing tricky.
Anthony Elanga brings Sweden back into it
However, Anthony Elanga brought the Swedes back when he levelled things six minutes later. He found the back of the net with a 62nd-minute strike from a left foot just outside the box for his second goal of the tournament. Elanga had another chance to score in injury time when he right-footed one attempt for Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to make a diving deflection.
Alexander Isak gave some more worries to Japan when he sent in a header from a corner which was deflected off by Suzuki. The Swedes had eight corners, while Japan had only two as the two settled for a stalemate. Sweden are one of the three third-best teams who have made it to the knockouts till now.
Japan to face Brazil in round of 32
Japan will now be up against Brazil in the round of 32 in a tough clash for the Asian giants. The Selecao topped Group C with seven points after beating Scotland and Haiti and drawing 1-1 with Morocco. Brazil and Japan will face each other on June 29 at the Houston Stadium.
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