JAPAN'S FOOTBALL TEAM SHOWS WEAKNESS IN FRIENDLY AGAINST UKRAINE
The Japanese national football team showed on Tuesday that they have a lot of room for improvement ahead of the World Cup that starts in mid-June, as they lost 2-1 in a preparatory friendly against Ukraine.
The European team opened the scoring in the 21st minute when a shot by Yaroslav Rakitskiy deflected off Japanese defender Naomichi Ueda. But the Asian team equalized in the 41st minute with a header from Tomoaki Makino.
Oleksandr Karavaev gave Ukraine the victory in the 69th minute. Ukraine did not qualify for the World Cup in Russia.
In the group stage of the World Cup, Japan will be part of Group H, where they will face Colombia, Senegal, and Poland. (D)