Mitoma on song as Japan outgun Ghana 4-1 in World Cup warmup

[ad_1]

Kaoru Mitoma scored one goal and set up another Friday to lead Japan to a 4-1 win over fellow 2022 World Cup participants Ghana.

The Royale Union Saint-Gilloise winger put Japan up 2-1 on the stroke of halftime and assisted on Takefusa Kubo’s maiden Samurai Blue goal in the second half of the friendly at Kobe’s Noevir Stadium.

Miki Yamane (#2) of Japan opens the scoring in the first half of an international friendly against Ghana held at Noevir Stadium in Kobe, western Japan, on June 10, 2022, as a warm-up for the World Cup finals that begin in November in Qatar. (Kyodo)

Coming off a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Monday’s World Cup warmup, Hajime Moriyasu’s Samurai Blue dominated the chances against the West Africans.

Right-back Miki Yamane netted the opener in the 29th minute but went from hero to villain 15 minutes later when his turnover led directly to an equalizer from Ghana’s Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew.

Kaoru Mitoma (far R in blue) scores Japan’s second goal during the first half of an international friendly against Ghana on June 10, 2022, at Noevir Stadium in Kobe, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Mitoma saved his former Kawasaki Frontale teammate Yamane’s blushes, however, when his curling ball toward a pair of onrushing Japan attackers made its way directly into the net past Ghana keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi.

“I was thinking about crossing to set up goals before the game,” said Mitoma, who also scored in last Thursday’s 4-1 friendly win over Paraguay. “Ritsu (Doan) and Ayase (Ueda) were flying in from the other side, so I should probably thank them (for the goal).”

Takefusa Kubo (R) celebrates with Kaoru Mitoma after scoring Japan’s third goal against Ghana during the second half of their international football friendly on June 10, 2022, at Noevir Stadium in Kobe, western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kubo opened his account for the senior national team six days past his 21st birthday, tapping in after Mitoma dribbled around his man and cut back a diagonal ball to the middle of the area.

“I don’t know why it is that I’ve gotten rattled so many times in those situations with the national team, but this time I stayed poised, and thought it was going in as soon as I struck it,” said Kubo, who spent the past season on loan to Mallorca from Real Madrid.

Celtic forward Daizen Maeda added Japan’s fourth after coming off the bench in the 80th minute, volleying home as Junya Ito streaked down the right and floated a cross into his path.

Moriyasu, who has experimented with varied player combinations in the recent friendlies, credited his squad for their businesslike approach against Otto Addo’s Ghana side.

“The players prepared well to avoid consecutive losses after losing to Brazil,” Moriyasu said. “They came out looking to get the win, regardless of which players got a run.”

The friendly was part of the four-team Kirin Cup tournament. World Cup qualifiers Tunisia beat Chile 2-0 earlier in the day and will face Japan in Tuesday’s final.

Japan will face Spain, Germany and either Costa Rica or New Zealand in Group E of the World Cup, kicking off Nov. 21 in Qatar.

Related coverage: