2010 World Cup : Japan Vs Denmark Goals from Keisuke Honda Endo and Okazaki Lift Japan
The match in Rustenburg produced an upset, as an energetic Japan side beat their European counterparts, Denmark by three goals to nil. This is the first time Japan has qualified for the knock out round of the tournament on foreign soil and shows how far the Asian side has come over the years.
The first Japanese goal came as early as the 17th minute when Keisuke Honda, scored with a magnificent free kick past the Danish goalkeeper, Sorensen. The keeper, trying to anticipate where the shot was going to go and moved the wrong way and then once he tried to change direction, it was already too late. The ball flew into the back of the net from almost 35 yards and put Japan ahead, who only needed a draw to progress to the next round.
Not to be outdone by his fellow countrymen, Endo scored another screamer from 20 yards out. This time there was nothing Sorensen could do as the ball was bent over the wall beyond the despairing dive of the Danish goalkeeper.
The first half ended 2-0 to the Japanese, a lead that was thoroughly deserved but it one goal was all the Danes needed to put themselves back into the game and the running for qualification.
The second half started in much the same fashion with the Japanese looking very dangerous when they went forward, particularly from set-plays where their specialists always tested Sorensen. In the 50th minute, a mistake by Sorensen almost made it 3-0 to the Japanese, as he lost control of a free kick taken by Endo. It should have been a simple enough save but in the end, the keeper was very lucky because the ball bounced off the post.
The Danish striker Tomasson will look back at this game and wonder why he missed chance after chance. He received the ball in very good scoring positions a number of times during the match but neither his first touch nor his finishing was good enough in comparison with the Japanese. In the 70th minute, for instance, Rommedahl got into the penalty area and passed it to Tomasson, who missed the goal from only 10 yards out.
In the 79th minute the Danes came close to scoring again but this time it was the crossbar that stopped Larsen's goal bound effort.
The pressure finally paid off for the Danes in the 80th minute when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Agger by Hasebe. Referee, Jerome Damon, pointed to the spot and Tomasson stepped up to take it despite his poor finishing in front of goal until that point. The veteran striker's shot wasn't good enough to beat the Japanese goalkeeper, Kawashima, on first instance but he stayed calm and slotted the rebound into the back of the net to make the score 2-1.
The goal gave the Danish hope, as they looked the turn the match around but it was not to be. In the 87th minute Japan scored for a third time and sealed their progress into the next round. The scorer Okazaki had an easy finish after Honda, who was outstanding for Japan throughout the game, had done all the work in the build up.
The Royal Bafokeng stadium was treated to a very entertaining match, here in South Africa. Netherlands beat Cameroon in the other game from this group which means that Netherlands go through as group winners and will take on Slovakia in the next round, whereas the Japanese finish second and face Paraguay.
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