Japan beat Li Tie’s China in EAFF E-1 Football Championship in South Korea
- Former Everton player watches 2-1 defeat in his first game as national team manager
- Full-blooded match sees Japanese youngsters targeted for rough treatment
Japan, with a starting lineup averaging under-23, got off to the ideal start as they prepare for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo with victory over longstanding rivals China.
However, it was China who threatened earliest, having the first real chance of the game when striker Dong Xuesheng drilled a shot into the post but he was offside during the buildup.
Japan then went close twice in quick succession, first when a foray down their left made Mei Fang scramble a sliding clearance that squirmed towards his own goal and then when a dead ball, again from the left wing, ended at the feet of Shinnosuke Hatanaka who hit the post with the goal gaping and China goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo rooted to his line.
The goal was worth the wait when it came and it was China captain Mei who was at fault. Ayase Ueda slipped the ball through his legs to teammate Tsukasa Morishima in the left channel who drove into the penalty area and squared for Musashi Suzuki to power home. It had been coming.
