Maya Yoshida gets send-off as Japan edge Iceland in farewell friendly

[p]The hosts started slowly in the sweltering heat, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suzuki-zion/4bDDVvmT/"]Zion Suzuki[/a] forced into an early save by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iceland/6TsAIrGN/"]Iceland[/a]’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thorhallsson-dagur/bBmS5UX8/"]Dagur Thórhallsson[/a], before veteran defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yoshida-maya/z1DyVikh/"]Maya Yoshida[/a] was taken off with a concerning injury on 14 minutes. With Iceland only carrying a limited attacking threat, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hidaka-hajime/I3LQBhx1/"]Hajime Moriyasu[/a]’s team edged themselves into the contest before the break and appeared most dangerous down the left, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nakamura-keito/ttEUhyfq/"]Keito Nakamura[/a] had curled wide early on, before his header from a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kubo-takefusa/fqdLdpc3/"]Takefusa Kubo[/a] cross was tipped over by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valdimarsson-hakon/pCDi9RWI/"]Hákon Valdimarsson[/a] later in the half.[/p][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brentford/xYe7DwID/"]Brentford[/a] goalkeeper was a thorn in the hosts’ side, dealing with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tomiyasu-takehiro/OSNvjZSP/"]Takehiro Tomiyasu[/a] volley from the edge of the box before the break to ensure parity upon the restart.[/p][image alt="Japan - Iceland match stats" id="0c00746b-ffd2-499a-b527-b55085138c1b" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="615fa533-edc7-4846-8ab0-b4f66b5436cc" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Japan looked to step up a gear in the second period, but Valdimarsson again stood tall to bravely thwart [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/itakura-ko/xGFA759a/"]Ko Itakura[/a] from six yards out after he was picked out by a Yukinari Sugawara corner. Despite only carrying an intermittent threat late on, Japan kept plugging away and finally got their reward with three minutes to go when substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ogawa-koki/0xFkEenH/"]Ogawa[/a] nodded Sugawara’s cross past a frustrated Valdimarsson.[/p][p]A win in Tokyo means Japan are now unbeaten in seven games since September, while they’ve also now kept five consecutive clean sheets. Next up for Moriyasu’s charges is their Group F opener against the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]Netherlands[/a] on June 14 in Texas. Iceland - who missed out on World Cup qualification - are now winless in five outings ahead of a meeting with world champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a].[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sugawara-yukinari/f7AvlM2c/"]Yukinari Sugawara[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULXPdOUj/"]Japan[/a])[/b][/p]