Japan hand Russia first Fifa Under-17 World Cup defeat

Sharjah: Kosei Uryu drove in a splendid 15th minute strike to help Japan to a 1-0 win over European champions Russia in their Group D match at the Sharjah Stadium here late on Friday.

Though playing against a physically better built side, the nippy Japanese showed why they have been constant representatives for Asia while dominating the Russians for a major part of the encounter.

At the end of the first half, Japan had maintained a 65 per cent possession of the ball, and that just about told the story of the encounter as the Russians failed to contain the fleet-footed and agile Japanese.

Japan showed they were here for business and did not slacken on the tempo of the match throughout the 90 minutes. Clean, clear and crisp passing was their strong point, and each time they saw a possible threat to their goal they were quick to withdraw into their own half and start a move all over again.

Yuki Aizu was the first to have a crack on goal in the fourth minute when he darted into the area and struck hard only to see Russian goalkeeper Anton Mitryushkin parry it away. Japan continued pressing and Yushi Nagashima who had done well to beat his marker shot into the side netting from a narrow angle.

The Russian goal however fell for the only time in the match, and that too, from a beauty from Uryu, who took a couple of Russian defenders in his stride and let go a stunning shot into the upper corner of the net giving Mitryushkin no chance at all.

In the second half, Russia altered their strategy of floating the ball too much and started matching the Japanese style of quick passing. But the Japanese always seemed to be a split second faster than their better built opponents.

Two minutes from the hour mark Aleksandr Makarov came up with a good run down the right, but found the defenders cutting down the angle all too quickly. Three minutes later, Ramil Sheidaev responded a bit too late to a through delivery from Sergey Makarov.

Russia pressed too much, but the Japanese responded by defending in droves. The best chance for Russia came five minutes from the final whistle when Aleksandr Golovin shot at goal only to see Teimosii Shiraoka respond with a daring save.