After their exhilarating performances against Germany and Turkey, the Japanese national soccer team continues to storm from victory to victory. Led by double packer Ao Tanaka, coach Hajime Moriyasu’s team won the test against Canada 4-1 (3-0) on Friday and celebrated their fifth success in a row. Most recently, Japan moved up to 19th place in the world rankings.
Less than two minutes had been played in Niigata when the hosts took the lead through the midfielder from second division team Fortuna Düsseldorf, and shortly before half-time Keito Nakamura (42′) got the score at half-time. Canada, on the other hand, experienced a first half to forget: First Jonathan David (22nd) failed from the spot, then Bayern professional Alphonso Davies (39th) scored an own goal. After the restart, Tanaka (49th) increased the score with his sixth goal in the 22nd international match, while substitute David Hoilett (89th) only made cosmetic results.
Klinsmann also wins with South Korea
The Japanese had already gone on a scoring spree in the last four test matches. The World Cup round of 16 scored almost at will against El Salvador (6:0), Peru (4:1), Germany (4:1) and Turkey (4:2) – and played a decisive role in the dismissal of national coach Hansi Flick and Turkey coach Stefan Kuntz.
Meanwhile, South Korea achieved its second friendly win in a row against Tunisia in Seoul. PSG attacker Kang-In Lee (55th/57th), an own goal from Yassine Meriah (66th) and the final point by Ui-Jo Hwang (90th + 1) made Klinsmann’s team celebrate, which has been four games is undefeated.
Klinsmann took office in March. However, after his selection remained winless in their first five appearances, the former national coach came under increasing pressure. The first success finally came in mid-September against Saudi Arabia (1-0).