The hosts started slowly in the sweltering heat, with Zion Suzuki forced into an early save by Iceland’s Dagur Thórhallsson, before veteran defender Maya Yoshida was taken off with a concerning injury on 14 minutes. With Iceland only carrying a limited attacking threat, Hajime Moriyasu’s team edged themselves into the contest before the break and appeared most dangerous down the left, where Keito Nakamura had curled wide early on, before his header from a Takefusa Kubo cross was tipped over by Hákon Valdimarsson later in the half.
The Brentford goalkeeper was a thorn in the hosts’ side, dealing with a Takehiro Tomiyasu volley from the edge of the box before the break to ensure parity upon the restart.
Japan looked to step up a gear in the second period, but Valdimarsson again stood tall to bravely thwart Ko Itakura from six yards out after he was picked out by a Yukinari Sugawara corner. Despite only carrying an intermittent threat late on, Japan kept plugging away and finally got their reward with three minutes to go when substitute Ogawa nodded Sugawara’s cross past a frustrated Valdimarsson.
A win in Tokyo means Japan are now unbeaten in seven games since September, while they’ve also now kept five consecutive clean sheets. Next up for Moriyasu’s charges is their Group F opener against the Netherlands on June 14 in Texas. Iceland - who missed out on World Cup qualification - are now winless in five outings ahead of a meeting with world champions Argentina.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yukinari Sugawara (Japan)
