Ao Tanaka vows to ‘fight responsibly’ after timely Japan start before World Cup | OneFootball

Leeds United’s Ao Tanaka marked a timely return to Japan’s XI in a 1-0 win over Iceland in Tokyo, then vowed to fight responsibly before the 2026 World Cup.

He partnered Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and played 73 minutes before Keisuke Goto replaced him with the game goalless. NEC Nijmegen forward Koki Ogawa headed a late winner. The player said in a post: “Thank you for your support. I will fight responsibly.”

Japan open Group F against the Netherlands in Dallas on Sunday June 14, then face Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico on June 21 and Sweden back in Dallas five days later.

Tanaka started the final warm-up and will hope to keep his place when the tournament begins.

Japan are seven unbeaten since a 2-0 loss to the USA in September, including big wins over Brazil, England and Scotland. They reached the last-16 in 2022 and 2018 but have never gone further.

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

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk