Osaka header earns Japan historic win after calamitous early red card restricts Colombia

Japan upset 10-man Colombia 2-1 in a dramatic match yesterday to become the first Asian side to beat South American opponents at a World Cup.

Asian teams had managed three draws in 17 matches against South American sides but the four-time Asian champions made their extra man count after Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez became the first player to get a red card in the current tournament.

His sending-off in the third minute, for a deliberate handball, was the second fastest in World Cup history after Uruguay’s Jose Batista was dismissed after 55 seconds against Scotland in 1986.

Shinji Kagawa scored from the resulting penalty to give Japan the lead in the Group H match.

Juan Quintero’s clever low freekick in the 39th minute brought Colombia level but Yuya Osako leapt above his marker to head a corner into the net for Japan’s 73rd-minute winner.

“To lose one player in the three minutes, to lose such a crucial player, is not an easy thing,” Colombia’s Argentine manager Jose Pekerman told reporters.

With Colombia ranked 16th in the world and Japan 61st, the South Americans were expected to win.

It was also sweet revenge for Japan, who were thumped 4-1 by the same opponents in Brakeep zil 2014, but they wasted plenty of chances to kill the game off earlier. Kagawa and Osako went close in the first half but failed to increase their lead.

“I told them at half-time to moving, get the advantage in positioning,” Japan coach Akira Nishino said.

“Our players were aggressive from the start and that worked very well for us. This is just one win and three points, so we will save our celebration.”

With Japan dominating the midfield with their extra man, Pekerman opted to sacrifice Juan Cuadrado around the half hour mark to send on defensive midfielder Wilmar Barrios.

That allowed Colombia a foothold in the match and their all-time leading scorer and captain Radamel Falcao came more into the game.

Falcao, making his World Cup debut after missing the last tournament due to injury, showed his hunger when he stretched full length to get his foot to an overhead cross but did not have the power to beat Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.

Genki Haraguchi’s foul on Falcao earned Colombia a foul on the edge of the box and Quintero fired a low free kick under the leaping wall. Kawashima reacted late and failed to stop the ball from crossing the line.

Colombia continued to trouble Brazil with quick attacking movements but as the minutes passed they lost stamina and playing 90 minutes with a man down proved too big a mountain to climb.

In a last throw of the dice, Pekerman introduced James Rodriguez, who did not start

Our players were aggressive from the start which worked well. This is just one win, so we will save our celebration AKIRA NISHINO Japan manager