The Japan keeper was rarely tested as the defence in front of him held strong and the Egypt attack looked fairly weak. When he was called into action he came out to collect crosses confidently and his distribution set his side on their way well. He was called into action for the first time in the 77th minute as he got down well to save a long range drive from El Neny.
He struggled against the pace of Mohamed Salah and Omar Gaber but was lucky enough to have support from his midfield to deny the wingers enough space to really hurt Japan. He never really got himself into attacking positions as he made sure he stuck to his defensive responsibilities throughout.
A solid performance in the centre of midfield for Ohgihara, he fought hard to win the ball back for his side and looked very good going forward, although some of his crossing could and should have been better. However he made up for it in the closing minutes with a lovely ball for Otsu to head home.
He had a good game, very calm and collected on the ball and very confident with his passing to help get his side moving. He handled the runners from midfield well and rarely let his man get past him to threaten his goal.
The Japan captain was a commanding figure at the back as he cleared any balls that came into the area and marked Meteab out of the game. He capped a good performance with the second goal in the 78th minute, stooping low to head home El Neny’s excellent cross.
The defender could have had two goals in the first 10 minutes but he could only head both chances wide. His blushes were spared as Japan went on to score two good goals, and he excelled in his centre defensive role. He worked well with Yoshida to keep Meteab very, very quiet.
The striker worked hard all game to find space and link up the play with midfield, and he got his reward for that work in the 83rd minute as he rose to meet Tokunaga’s cross and head home Japan’s third goal.
Tireless in midfield, he never stopped running and did everything he could to get his side into promising positions. That worked on many occasions but not all were able to be converted. His neat passing and good vision caused Egypt problems for the whole game.
A solid performance from the midfielder, he buzzed around the pitch collecting the ball whenever required and linking nicely with his team-mates.
He was instrumental in the opening goal as he robbed Ramadan before crossing to Nagai to score. His afternoon continued to go well as he threatened throughout down the right-hand side, causing Ramadan plenty of problems. He was replaced by Usami in the closing minutes.
The Nagoya Grampus Eight striker did not spend long on the pitch but in the 19 minutes he was involved he struck the first blow for Japan. A very energetic striker and he showed this in the 16th minute with the game’s opening goal. He got in front of his marker to latch onto Kiyotake’s cross, and showed composure to round Elshenawi and fire into the empty net for his second goal of the tournament. Unfortunately for him he collided with another Egypt defender as he scored and was unable to shake off the injury he picked up from that collision. He was replaced by Saito.
He replaced Higashi and continued the good work of his team-mate as he kept pushing his side forward, and it paid off as the added to their lead to qualify for the semi finals easily.
Lively, he replaced Kiyotake and did not give the Egypt defence a moment of peace in the six minutes he was on the pitch.
He replaced goalscorer Nagai in the 19th minute and looked lively up front causing the Egypt defence plenty of problems, and it was Saito’s pace that got him away from Saadeldin Saad in the 40th minute only for the Egypt defender to bring him down and be sent off for the foul.
His afternoon was a busy one as the Japan forward line asked plenty of questions of the Al Masry keeper, and in truth he was lucky to not concede more in the first half. He could only watch as Daisuke Suzuki headed two early chances wide and he mistimed his run to intercept Kiyotake’s cross for Nagai’s goal, meaning he ended up colliding with his own defender as the forward scored. There was nothing he could do with either of the following goals though as the Japan forwards created plenty of space.
He made some important interceptions at crucial times for Egypt but the fluidity of the Japanese attack meant he was occasionally caught out of position.
The full-back had a slow start to the game and struggled against the lively Higashi but as Egypt settled into the game it was Fathi who helped lead the charge. He made lots of good runs down the right-hand side to support Mohamed Salah and delivered some dangerous crosses in to Meteab.
He started the game strongly but a lapse in concentration in the 16th minute allowed Kiyotake to dispossess him and create the opening goal for Japan. From that point onwards he had an average game, not doing anything particularly wrong but he struggled with the pace of the Japanese forwards.
Having to deal with an ever-changing front line meant Saad had to keep his concentration at all times and he had done so very well until the 40th minute when he let substitute Saito go. As he tried to catch the forward he brought him down on the edge of the penalty area and was shown a straight red card.
An experienced head for Egypt and he had to lead by example to help his team get back into the game after conceding Nagai’s goal and again after Saad’s dismissal. He was very controlled in possession, always finding another white shirt and making dangerous runs into the penalty area to threaten the Japan goal.
As Egypt struggled to get a grip on the game in the opening parts of the first half things passed Shebab by but when they started to turn the tide he looked dangerous in possession for the North Africans. However after Saad’s red card he was the man to be replaced by Alaa Eldin so that Egypt had cover at the back.
Solid in the middle of the pitch, his hard work closing down the Japanese players helped limit the Asian side to few chances and his defence-minded attitude allowed the more attack-minded players to push on and threaten.
There were not many chances for the midfielder to get involved in the game in the opening half as the Japanese dominated possession and gave him very little room to attack their defence. He improved in the second half but still struggled to have a real impact on the game.
The delivery to the striker was near non-existent in the opening half hour as the midfield struggled to get a grip on the game. As Egypt came back into the game he was much more involved and led the line well, he created space for both himself and his team-mates with good movement but sights of goal were few and far between.
The man who really lead the comeback from Egypt in the first half with his direct running and good vision, unfortunately his final ball let him down all too often and there was very little for Emad Meteab to work with. He was replaced by Omar Gaber in the 58th minute,
He replaced Shebab Ahmed in the final minute of the first half following Saad’s red card and he slotted into the hole left by his compatriot in the centre of the defence. He worked well with Hegazi to limit the shots at goal Japan were able to have with good close marking, particularly of Otsu.
The man who really lead the comeback from Egypt in the first half with his direct running and good vision, unfortunately his final ball let him down all too often and there was very little for Emad Meteab to work with. He was replaced by Omar Gaber in the 58th minute.
A 58th minute replacement for Salah he looked very lively down the right-hand side for the North Africans, he gave Tokunaga plenty to deal with and delivered some better crosses in towards Meteab.
He replaced Meteab in the 74th minute but was unable to have an impact on the game, the same problem as the man who he replaced.
| Tournament | |
| Position | |
| Ranking |
| Rank/Player | Position | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. M. Fabián | Midfielder | Mexico | 4.00 |
| 2. Neymar | Striker | Brazil | 3.67 |
| 3. Oscar | Midfielder | Brazil | 3.60 |
| 4. Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.50 |
| 5. O. Peralta | Striker | Mexico | 3.50 |
| 6. Leandro Damião | Striker | Brazil | 3.50 |
| 7. Rômulo | Midfielder | Brazil U-23 | 3.40 |
| 8. Yuki Otsu | Midfielder | Japan U-23 | 3.38 |
| 9. Tom Cleverley | Midfielder | England | 3.25 |
| 10. Marcelo | Defender | Brazil | 3.25 |
| 11. J. Corona | Goalkeeper | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 12. Jorge Enríquez | Midfielder | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 13. Scott Sinclair | Midfielder | Great Britain U-23 | 3.17 |
| 14. J. Aquino | Defender | Mexico | 3.17 |
| 15. Koo Ja-Cheol | Midfielder | South Korea | 3.17 |
| 16. Hulk | Striker | Brazil | 3.13 |
| 17. Steven Caulker | Defender | Great Britain U-23 | 3.13 |
| 18. Juan Mata | Striker | Spain | 3.00 |
| 19. Aaron Ramsey | Midfielder | Wales | 3.00 |
| 20. Daniel Sturridge | Striker | England | 3.00 |
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Leandro Damião Striker Internacional |
6 | 0 |
|
Moussa Konaté Striker Krasnodar |
5 | 0 |
|
O. Peralta Striker Santos Laguna |
4 | 0 |
|
Giovani dos Santos Striker Mallorca |
3 | 1 |
|
Neymar Striker Santos |
3 | 1 |
