Japan and Sweden both booked their places in the knockout stages of the World Cup, after they played out a 1-1 draw in their final Group F clash.
2026 World Cup
1-1
Match Report
Daizen Maeda's 56th-minute finish was quickly cancelled out by an Anthony Elanga stunner, with neither side able to find a winning goal in the closing stages at Dallas Stadium.
The result sees Japan finish as runners-up behind the Netherlands in the group, and are rewarded with a clash against Brazil.
Sweden, as it stands, will take on France, though their position in the best third-placed teams table could change in the remaining final round of fixtures.
Alexander Bernhardsson forced Zion Suzuki into an early save, but with a lot on the line, both teams struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities in what was a tepid first half.
However, Jacob Widell Zetterstrom was called into action twice before the break, first handling Yukinari Sugawara's drive from distance before the Sweden goalkeeper did brilliantly to tip Keito Nakamura's shot past the post at the end of a slick Japan move.
The Samurai Blue were quick out of the blocks in the second half and took a deserved lead through Maeda, who slotted into the bottom-left corner after he was picked out by Ritsu Doan's inch-perfect pass behind the Swedish defence.
But Sweden hit back six minutes later when Elanga flashed a long-range, left-footed strike beyond Suzuki for his second goal of the tournament, and they almost turned the game on its head soon after, but Alexander Isak saw his effort tipped behind.
Gustaf Lagerbielke headed wide before Koki Ogawa failed to test Zetterstrom, but Sweden had two glorious chances to snatch all three points in stoppage time. Suzuki first pushed Elanga's effort behind, before saving Isak's header onto the crossbar from the resulting corner as the spoils were shared.
試合終了
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Free-scoring Japan stay unbeaten while Sweden find their range
After a low-key opening to proceedings, the game burst into life after the interval as both sides threatened to land the decisive blow. Yet as referee Ivan Barton blew the full-time whistle, Japan and Sweden were both winners in their quest for the last 32.
After avoiding defeat here, Japan have now gone unbeaten through a World Cup group stage for just the second time, having previously done so in 2002 when they were co-hosts (W2 D1), and their goals have come from across their team so far.
Japan (10, tied with Germany) have most players directly involved in a goal at this tournament. Their previous record at a single tournament was eight players with a goal contribution in 2022 (four games).
But with Elanga's goal, which saw him become the first Sweden player to score in consecutive World Cup matches since Martin Dahlin and Kennet Andersson in 1994, Graham Potter's side found the back of the net in similar fashion.
Sweden have now scored four goals from outside the box in this tournament, double any other team's output (Cape Verde and France, two each). The last team to score four goals from outside the box in the group stage was Brazil in 2006.
But Japan may count themselves unfortunate in not being able to take all three points. They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.31 from their eight attempts, compared to Sweden's 0.42 from their 10 shots.
Line-ups
Japan XI: Ritsu Doan, Ko Itakura, Kamada, Daizen Maeda, Ao Tanaka, Ayumu Seko, Hiroki Ito, Yukinari Sugawara, Keito Nakamura, Zion Suzuki, Ayase Ueda
Subs: Nagatomo, Shogo Taniguchi, Junya Ito, Tomiyasu, Koki Ogawa, Keisuke Osako, Shuto Machino, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Kaishu Sano, Yuito Suzuki, Tomoki Hayakawa, Keisuke Goto, Junnosuke Suzuki, Kento Shiogai
Sweden XI: Lindelof, Viktor Gyökeres, Isak, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Isak Hien, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Anthony Elanga, Alexander Bernhardsson, Jacob Widell Zetterström, Elliot Stroud, Yasin Ayari
Subs: K. Nordfeldt, Jesper Karlström, Ken Sema, Carl Starfelt, Eric Smith, Viktor Johansson, Gustaf Nilsson, Svanberg, Hjalmar Ekdal, Benjamin Nygren, Herman Johansson, Besfort Zeneli, Daniel Svensson, Taha Ali, Bergvall