Penalty drama in Tokyo: Japan wins the cup

The international friendly tournament held in Tokyo during the FIFA window concluded with an unexpected scenario. While the winners of the tournament's semifinals were determined by penalty shootouts, the third-place match also failed to produce a winner in regulation time.

In the final, Japan defeated New Zealand 2-1 to claim the top prize of the Tokyo tournament.

Japan overcomes New Zealand in the final

Japan and New Zealand faced off in the decisive match of the four-team tournament.

Japan opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Ueda put his team ahead.

However, New Zealand responded quickly. In the 32nd minute, Old scored to level the score.

The teams went into the break tied at 1-1.

In the second half, the Japanese took the lead once again. In the 71st minute, Doan found the back of the net, giving Japan a 2-1 advantage.

New Zealand was unable to equalize in the remaining minutes.

Thus, Japan won the final and became the tournament champion.

Winners in the semifinals were also decided by penalties

A unique aspect of the competition in Tokyo was that the teams that reached the final also failed to determine a winner in regular time.

In one of the semifinals, Japan played against Ecuador, and the winner was decided by a penalty shootout.

In the second semifinal, New Zealand faced Panama. This match also did not determine a winner in regulation time, and penalties decided the fate of the teams once again.

As a result, Japan and New Zealand advanced to the final.

Ecuador and Panama also went to penalties

Ecuador and Panama competed against each other in the third-place match.

Panama opened the scoring in the match. In the 38th minute, Vergara put his team in the lead.

Ecuador scored an equalizer in the second half. In the 58th minute, Angulo brought the score to 1-1.

No other goals were scored in the remaining time, and the match had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

Here, the Panamanian players were more precise — winning the series 7-6 to take third place in the tournament.

Results of the tournament in Tokyo

Kirin Cup. Tokyo

Final

Japan — New Zealand — 2:1

Goals: Ueda, 28; Doan, 71 — Old, 32.

Third-place match

Ecuador — Panama — 1:1

Goals: Angulo, 58 — Vergara, 38.

Penalty shootout — 6:7.

The most interesting statistic of the tournament — penalties

The competition in Tokyo once again showed how much small details in football matter.

In both semifinals, the winner was determined by penalties. In the third-place match, the teams were also unable to overcome each other within 90 minutes.

Only in the final did Japan break this pattern. The hosts defeated New Zealand 2-1 to claim the top prize of the tournament held during the FIFA window in Tokyo.

Thus, while the competition ended in a championship for Japan, Panama secured third place through their second victory in a penalty shootout.