Daiichi Kamada led Germany’s World Cup group opponents Japan to a friendly victory against the United States in Düsseldorf. The Eintracht Frankfurt professional scored an early goal (24th) for the Asians in 2-0 (1-0), with Kaoru Mitoma (88th) making a late decision.
The Japanese, the first opponents of the DFB team in Qatar on 23 November, showed a willingness to play and Maya Yoshida (Schalke) and Wataru Ando (Stuttgart) were the two other Bundesliga professionals in the starting line-up.
Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna started for the Americans, who are also in Qatar. The Japanese will also test against Ecuador next Tuesday at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf.
Costa Rica, also opponents in the DFB World Cup group, missed out on a win. Against South Korea, who also qualified for the final, coach Luis Fernando Suárez’s team drew a late draw through superstar Heung-Min Son (85′) to make it 2–2. Hee-chan Hwang put South Korea ahead (28′) before Jewson Bennett turned the game around with a brace (41′, 63′). Costa Rica goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado sees a red card after a handball outside the penalty area (79′).
Brazil easily won 3–0 (3–0) against Ghana. Marquinhos (9′) and Richardson (28’/40′) scored for Selecao. World Cup hosts Qatar conceded only their second defeat of the last eleven matches in Vienna with a 0:2 (0:2) against Canada. Syl Larin (4th) and Jonathan David (13th) scored early for the North Americans around Bayern professional Alfonso Davies, who is attending a World Cup final for the second time since 1986.
Alfonso Davies replaces the injured – easy all clear
However, there are injury concerns regarding Bayern professional Alfonso Davies. The 21-year-old had to substitute in the 60th minute after colliding with an opponent. But a little is clear: Canada coach John Harderman said after the win: “I think he’s fine. He was sitting on the bench and smiling, so I think he’s fine.” Canada will now continue to play against Uruguay on Tuesday. Whether Davies will be used before returning to Bayern remains questionable.
In another duel between the two World Cup participants, Iran defeated two-time world champion Uruguay 1–0 (0–0) in St. FC Porto’s Mehdi Taremi (79′) scored a late winner for the Asian side, which met England, Wales and USA in the preliminary round.
