Japan 1-0 Ecuador

As feared, there wasn’t a whole lot to take away from this match. One-nil was the scorline we predicted, thinking that Ecuador’s lineup would be hard-pressed to score, while Japan’s home crowd could cheer them on to at least one goal. And so it was.

Ecuador’s starting formation looked like this:

Mora
Cortes, Perlaza, Espinoza, George
Soledispa, E. Tenorio, Avyovi, Urritia
Baldeon, Calderon

Although each side had its chances in the first half, neither team seemed ready to pounce on the others’ mistakes. Ecuador’s best chance at opening the scoring came when a screamer from Edwin Tenorio met with the top bar instead of the net.

Coach Zico’s substition at 73 minutes helped ensure that Japan would come away with the win. It was then that Sato was brought on to replace Kubo for the Blue Shirts. Sato showed good pace and tireless effort. This all paid off in the 85th minute when, courtesy of a defensive mistake by–guess who–Marlon Ayovi, Sato broke free and met a nice cross only feet in front of the Ecuadorian goal. A nice flick into the corner, and the match was sealed.

I was impressed that this Ecuador lineup could hold (a somewhat also depleted) Japan side scoreless for 85 minutes. I knew it would be very difficult for the lineup to generate goals, so 1-0 seems like a fair result.

Of course, there will be much more fallout from this match, as Coach Luis Suarez and others weigh in. As always, check back here for more info and opinion.