The Sports Guru
A draw suited everyone, and for forty-five minutes it showed. Then the game remembered it was a World Cup. This covers the 1-1 in Dallas that carried both Japan and Sweden into the last 32, Anthony Elanga's second stunning finish in two matches, and the quieter casualty several time zones away: Scotland, for whom this was another result going the wrong way.
For an hour this had the look of a game both teams were content to leave alone. A draw sent Japan and Sweden through, the first half offered almost nothing, and the suspicion grew that two well-organised sides would shake hands on a result that suited them both. Then the second half arrived with a different idea. Daizen Maeda put Japan in front, Anthony Elanga answered with the kind of goal that ends arguments, and a 1-1 draw in Dallas sent both into the World Cup knockout rounds. The scoreline was tidy. The forty-five minutes that produced it were not.
A first half that promised little
The opening period was the kind of cautious chess both managers could live with. Japan were the better side without ever turning it into anything, taking 40 minutes to register a shot on target despite holding most of the ball. Maeda headed over the best opening of the half on 22 minutes, and on the stroke of half-time Jacob Zetterstrom turned a Keito Nakamura effort around the corner with a good save. Sweden, meanwhile, seemed happy to keep the game where it was. Both teams knew a point was enough, and for a while both teams played like it.
That changed ten minutes after the restart. Japan worked the ball through some intricate passing around the edge of the Sweden box, and Maeda slid in to finish from inside the area. It was the reward for the better team and, briefly, it threatened to rearrange the qualification maths. Sweden, who had looked content to settle, suddenly had to play. What followed was the best seven minutes of their tournament.
Elanga answers, and Isak hits the woodwork
Seven minutes after falling behind, Sweden were level, and they were level through a moment of real quality. Elanga, the Newcastle winger, drove forward and curled a glorious left-footed finish beyond the goalkeeper, his second goal in two World Cup matches. It was the strike of a player in form, and it eased the elimination fears that Maeda's goal had briefly raised. From there the game opened fully. Alexander Isak nearly turned it on its head minutes later, only for Zion Suzuki to keep out his low effort, and the Japan goalkeeper was needed again in stoppage time to deny Elanga before Isak struck the bar from the resulting corner.
Japan had their own late opening, Kogi Ogawa scooping over from Daichi Kamada's cross on 83 minutes, but the closing exchanges belonged mostly to a Sweden side that improved as the game wore on. Suzuki finished as the busier and better of the two goalkeepers, which tells its own story about how the second half tilted. Both teams, though, had what they came for. Japan go through as runners-up in Group F, having earlier shown their sharper edge when they beat Tunisia 4-0, while Sweden advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Potter's redemption, and Scotland's pain
For Graham Potter, the draw completed a turnaround that looked improbable not long ago. Sweden sacked Jon Dahl Tomasson last October with the side bottom of their qualifying group and the tournament itself a distant thought. Under Potter the ship has been steadied, even if it is not yet sailing surely. They battered Tunisia in their opener, but in the two games against sides of genuine quality, including a heavy defeat to the Netherlands, Sweden have looked some way short of convincing. Viktor Gyokeres cut a frustrated figure against Japan, booked and starved of support, while Isak's two clear chances came from a Japan error and a set-piece rather than open play. Elanga, with two goals in two, is the one Swede arriving at the knockouts in form. "Credit to the players, they stood up as they always have done," Potter said. "Going a goal down, we stuck at it and delighted for Anthony because he's been amazing off the pitch. Now he's got two goals."
The collateral damage landed in Scotland. Only a four-goal Japan win could have lifted Steve Clarke's side in the race for the best third-placed spots, and that scenario was never realistic once the game settled into its rhythm. With every Group F side that took a point now through, Scotland's qualification arithmetic grows colder by the result. Japan, meanwhile, have the hardest reward of the lot. They meet Brazil in Houston on Monday, kick-off 6pm UK time, while Sweden wait to learn their opponent, most likely the winner of Group I, with that tie set for New Jersey on Tuesday. Both are through. Only one of them looks ready for what comes next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Japan and Sweden drew 1-1 in their Group F match at Dallas Stadium, watched by 70,137. Daizen Maeda put Japan in front on 55 minutes after intricate play around the Sweden box, but Anthony Elanga curled in an equaliser seven minutes later. The draw was enough to send both teams into the World Cup knockout stages, Japan as Group F runners-up and Sweden as one of the best third-placed sides.
Daizen Maeda scored for Japan, sliding the ball home from inside the box on 55 minutes after a passage of intricate passing. Anthony Elanga equalised for Sweden on 62 minutes with a glorious curled left-footed finish, his second goal in two World Cup matches. Alexander Isak went close to a winner for Sweden and struck the bar in stoppage time, but the game finished 1-1, a result that suited both teams.
Yes. The 1-1 draw sent both teams through. Japan qualified as Group F runners-up, while Sweden went through as one of the best third-placed teams. In fact every Group F side that finished with points qualified. The result means Graham Potter's Sweden reach the knockout stages despite an uneven group campaign, while Japan advance having looked the more convincing of the two across their three matches.
It was another blow to Scotland's hopes. Only a four-goal win for Japan could have improved Steve Clarke's side in the race for the best third-placed places, and that outcome was never likely once the match settled. With the Group F qualification now confirmed against them, Scotland are increasingly reliant on results elsewhere falling kindly. The draw in Dallas pushed their path to the last 32 further out of their own hands.
Japan face Brazil in Houston on Monday June 29, kick-off at 6pm UK time, the toughest tie either Group F side could have drawn. Sweden will wait to learn their opponent, who is most likely to be the winner of Group I, one of France or Norway. That round-of-32 game is scheduled for New Jersey on Tuesday June 30, kick-off at 10pm UK time. Both teams are through, but Japan have the harder assignment.
Sources: Final score, goalscorers and minutes, Maeda's opener and Elanga's equaliser, Japan taking 40 minutes for a shot on target, the Zetterstrom save from Nakamura, Isak's chances and his stoppage-time strike against the bar, Suzuki's saves, Ogawa's late miss from Kamada's cross, the venue and attendance, both teams qualifying with Japan second and Sweden as a best third-placed side, the blow to Scotland and the four-goal scenario, the round-of-32 ties against Brazil and a likely Group I winner, the context on Sweden sacking Jon Dahl Tomasson and Potter steadying them, the form of Gyokeres, Isak and Elanga, and the post-match quotes from Graham Potter, all as reported in Sky Sports' coverage of Japan 1-1 Sweden at the World Cup.
