Honda quick off mark to keep Japan on course
If England viewed this game as a chance to determine who they would most like to meet in the next round, they ended little the wiser, with nothing to separate sides who will both emerge from Group H if they win their final game.
Midfielder Keisuke Honda came off the bench to salvage a draw for Japan, a result that leaves the teams locked at the top of a group in which qualification will go down to the wire.
Veteran Honda, 32, who became the first Japanese player to score in three World Cups, replaced Shinji Kagawa in the second half with his team trailing 2-1 and fired the equaliser 12 minutes from time after a bad error by Senegal goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye.
Senegal thought they had claimed all three points as Moussa Wague drilled the ball into the top of the net in the 71st minute to make it 2-1, after Sadio Mane’s fortuitous first-half opener was cancelled out by Takashi Inui’s curling shot.
But Honda ensured things ended level and deservedly so. “They were avoidable goals,” Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said in a blunt assessment of his defence. “The best team was Japan, we have to admit that.
“We didn’t play a great game but we didn’t lose. I believe … I have confidence. Our team has the quality to face Colombia.” That fixture takes place on Thursday in Samara, while Japan play Poland in Volgograd.
Senegal’s back line may have faltered towards the end, but they began strongly and their robust defending neutralised any early threat from Japan’s front men.
The Africans went ahead in the 11th minute, although there was an element of luck to their opener.
A poor headed clearance landed right at Youssouf Sabaly’s feet and, although goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima managed to parry the defender’s stinging shot from the left, the ball rebounded into the net off Mane’s knee, a tribute to the Liverpool winger’s ability to sniff out a chance.
But Japan, who have looked surprisingly resolute for a team who changed coach before the tournament, would not be beaten and are now in with a real shout of qualification.
“We knew it was going to be tough,” Japan coach Akira Nishino said. “I evaluate it as a very good point.”
Japan Subs Senegal Subs
Booked Referee