Elanga’s strike cancels out Maeda as Japan and Sweden both reach the last 32

Japan and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw in Arlington on June 25, and by the final whistle the scoreline suited both sides just fine. Daizen Maeda put Japan ahead just before the hour, Anthony Elanga answered with a curling left-foot finish six minutes later, and once it was clear neither team needed a winner to reach the knockouts, the urgency quietly drained out of the night.

Japan finished second in Group F on five points. Sweden took third on four, enough to go through as one of the eight best third-placed teams in the expanded 48-nation format. Netherlands had already locked up top spot with a game to spare.

Maeda finishes a flowing move

The goal that broke the deadlock was the best piece of football in the match. Ritsu Doan drifted in off the right, exchanged passes with Ayase Ueda and slipped the ball through the gap between Sweden’s centre-backs. Maeda held his run to stay onside and finished first time past the goalkeeper. It was the kind of quick, one-touch combination Japan have leaned on all tournament, and for a few minutes it looked like it might even carry them above the Dutch.

Elanga hits straight back

Sweden did not stay behind for long. Six minutes after Maeda’s opener, Elanga collected possession on the corner of the box, shifted onto his left foot and bent a shot over Zion Suzuki and inside the far post. It was his second goal in two matches, and a neat summary of why his pace and finishing have made him Graham Potter’s most dangerous outlet at this World Cup.

After that, the game settled. Both benches understood a draw was likely to send them both through, and the closing half hour played out with neither side willing to overcommit. There were half-chances at each end, but nothing that seriously threatened to change the picture.

Brazil await Japan

Second place comes with a serious test attached. Japan move into the round of 32 against Brazil, the five-time world champions, on June 29, a daunting reward for a side built on pressing and quick, vertical movement. Sweden, through the back door as a third-placed team, will fancy their own run now that they are into the knockouts. Potter has built a side that defends well and carries a threat on the break, and on this evidence Elanga gives them a player who can settle a tight game on his own.

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