Ao Tanaka vows to fight as Japan beat Iceland before World Cup | OneFootball

Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka issued a vow as Japan tuned up for the 2026 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iceland in Tokyo, marking a timely return to the starting XI.

The player said in an Instagram post that, "Thank you for your support. I will fight responsibly."

Tanaka started alongside Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and logged 73 minutes before Keisuke Goto replaced him with the game still goalless. NEC Nijmegen forward Koki Ogawa headed the late winner.

Japan now travel from Tokyo across the North Pacific for Group F. They open against the Netherlands in Dallas, Texas on Sunday 14 June.

After the Netherlands, Japan face Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico on 21 June, then Gabriel Gudmundsson’s Sweden back in Dallas five days later.

Japan are unbeaten in seven since a 2-0 defeat to the USA in September, a run that includes big wins over Brazil, England and Scotland.

Tanaka will hope to help Japan reach the knockout stages for a third straight World Cup, having made the last-16 in 2022 and 2018, but never progressed beyond that.

Elsewhere, Leeds winger Noah Okafor missed Switzerland’s 4-1 win over Jordan with a calf issue, Brenden Aaronson was an unused substitute in the USA’s 3-2 victory over Senegal, and Sweden face Norway this evening.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk