Japan needed a penalty shootout to get past Ecuador in the Kirin Cup semifinal played on Thursday, October 1, at the Yokohama International Stadium (Nissan Stadium), with the hosts prevailing 5-4 on spot kicks after the sides finished level at 0-0 through the 90 minutes of regulation time. The win sends Hajime Moriyasu's side through to the Kirin Cup final, while Ecuador will play in the third-place match.
A tense night with few clear chances
Neither side could find the breakthrough in open play, and the match went the distance before being settled from twelve yards. Ecuador had arrived at the tournament looking to end a long run without a win over Japan, but the shootout loss means La Tri still has not managed an official victory over Japan across their meetings on record, with two draws and now a string of defeats weighing on the head-to-head history between the two federations.
Gallardo's Ecuador shows signs of life despite the setback
The match was only the second for Ecuador under new head coach Marcelo Gallardo, and the Argentine coach will have taken some encouragement from the performance. According to reporting from the match, Ecuador displayed a different image from the one shown in its 3-0 defeat to South Korea, starting the game with more initiative, possession and quick transitions. That South Korea loss had marked a rough start to the Gallardo era, and the new stage of the Ecuadorian national team under the Argentine coach did not have the best of beginnings before this tighter contest in Yokohama.
Gallardo had to manage his squad without several regular starters from the previous coaching staff, which made the competitive display against a strong Asian opponent a reasonable building block even in defeat. As the match wore on, Japan gradually began to gain control of the game and started testing goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez, a sign of the host nation's growing control before the match slipped into extra increments and, eventually, penalties.
Japan rides momentum from a strong run of results
For Moriyasu's side, the shootout win extends a positive run heading into the tournament. Japan arrived in this semifinal on the back of consecutive victories, including a win over Venezuela in Hiroshima in which Ayase Ueda was the standout figure, scoring both goals, including the winner from a penalty in stoppage time. That result meant Japan came into the Ecuador match having won its two previous outings, giving the hosts the kind of attacking confidence that eventually told in the shootout, even if the Samurai Blue could not find a winner in normal time.
New Zealand awaits in the Tokyo final
Japan's prize for advancing is a place in the Kirin Cup final, where it will face New Zealand. The All Whites booked their spot earlier on the same day in Yokohama, needing their own shootout to get past Panama after Marko Stamenić opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Giovany Herbert equalized for Panama right on halftime, with neither side finding a winner in the second half. Tyler Bindon, Stamenić, Moses Dyer, Lachlan Bayliss and Michael Boxall all converted their penalties to send New Zealand through.
The final between Japan and New Zealand is scheduled for Monday, October 5, at Tokyo National Stadium, giving the tournament hosts a chance to add another Kirin Cup title on home soil. Ecuador and Panama, meanwhile, are set to meet in the third-place playoff on the same day, a consolation fixture for two teams eliminated at the penalty stage of their respective semifinals. For Gallardo, the next match offers a chance to build further on the improved display his side showed against Japan, even if the result in Yokohama did not go his team's way.