Japan hammer 10-man Paraguay 5-0 in Olympic men’s soccer opener
Source: Japan Today
Shunsuke Mito and late substitute Shota Fujio each bagged a brace as Japan made an emphatic start to the Paris Olympic men’s football tournament with a 5-0 win over 10-man Paraguay in Bordeaux on Wednesday.
Go Oiwa’s men were already in the ascendancy thanks to Mito’s opener when Paraguay midfielder Wilder Viera was marched for dangerous play 24 minutes into the Group D clash.
The Asian under-23 champions, who opted not to bring any overage players, created the first chance five minutes in at Bordeaux Stadium when Hiroki Sekine forced a save with his header from a corner kick.
They continued to dictate play and were rewarded in the 19th minute when Mito coolly finished from the left of the area, the Sparta Rotterdam winger taking a moment to line up his shot after controlling Ayumu Ohata’s cutback.
The match soon took another pivotal turn when a review by the video assistant referee led to Viera seeing a straight red card after putting his studs into Yu Hirakawa’s ankle.
Japan were denied a second in first-half stoppage time as Paraguay keeper Gatito Fernandez blocked a driving effort from Kein Sato, who replaced the injured Hirakawa in the 34th minute.
Carlos Jara Saguier’s Paraguay, who eliminated Brazil and finished above Argentina in South American qualifying, showed considerably more fight early in the second half and had Japan momentarily rattled when Marcelo Fernandez blasted into the side netting from a corner.
But the Asian side took the wind out of their sails with a beautifully constructed attack in the 63rd minute, the 1.64-meter Mito ultimately heading home off a lofted ball from former Sparta teammate Koki Saito.
The ever-present Saito was also the provider for Japan’s third six minutes later, finding Rihito Yamamoto to slot past the hapless Paraguayan keeper.
After coming on for Mito, Machida Zelvia standout Fujio netted Japan’s fourth from an 81st-minute set piece, rising high to head in off Ryotaro Araki’s looping free kick.
With three minutes left in regulation, Fujio showed the quality that has made him indispensable for the current J-League leaders, calmly finishing one-on-one off a superb through ball from Mao Hosoya.
“It’s great to have gotten the job done in the opener,” Mito said. “I had too much time and was left unmarked (for the opening goal) but I’m relieved to have scored. I had eye contact with Saito for my headed goal. His cross was inch perfect and I just had to put it in the net.”
Wednesday’s result was a turnaround from when the two teams last met on this stage, with Paraguay beating Japan 4-3 in their 2004 Olympic opener before eventually claiming silver in Athens during Jara Saguier’s previous stint at the helm.
Japan will play their next Group D match against Mali on Saturday.
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