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Japan and Sweden secured a 1-1 draw this Thursday at the , which was enough for both teams to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, concluding the third matchday of Group F.
The first half passed without any goals and with Japan controlling the game. The first major incident occurred in the 32nd minute when Isak Hien received a yellow card, which forced Sweden to take him off the field five minutes later and bring on Lucas Bergvall.
The second half completely changed the script. In the 56th minute, Daizen Maeda opened the scoring for the Japanese team after receiving a pass from Ritsu Doan that left him one-on-one with the Swedish goalkeeper, finishing with a cross shot to make it 1-0.
The Japanese advantage lasted just six minutes. In the 62nd minute, Anthony Elanga responded with a shot from outside the box that left the opposing goalkeeper with no chance, equalizing the score to 1-1. The goal from the Swedish winger—who had already scored in the defeat against the Netherlands—was the last goal of the match despite the numerous substitutions both teams made in the closing stages.
The statistics reflected a balanced match: 51% possession for Japan compared to 49% for Sweden, 8 Japanese shots against 10 Swedish, with three and five shots on target respectively. Sweden dominated in corners (eight to two), while Japan committed more fouls (20 to 11). A total of three yellow cards were issued —one for Japan and two for Sweden, including the one for Viktor Gyökeres in the 85th minute— with no red cards for either team.
With this result, was led by The Netherlands with seven points, followed by Japan in second place with five (one win, two draws, no losses, seven goals for and three against). Sweden advances as the best third with four points, while Tunisia is eliminated with zero points and a goal difference of -10.
Japan advances to the next round unbeaten in the tournament, while Sweden progresses as one of the best third-placed teams after suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat against the Netherlands in the second round. The Netherlands, which won 3-1 against Tunisia in Kansas City on Thursday, had already secured the top spot in the group earlier.
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