Japan U-20’s last hope gone…group stage ‘bust’ for first time in 22 years since 2001
Japan’s last hope is gone.
Japan’s U-20 national soccer team has been eliminated from the group stage of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 in Argentina with a 1-2 loss.
Japan suffered an upset 1-2 loss in their final Group C match against Israel on Aug. 28 (KST) despite being outnumbered. A draw would have secured them a wild card, but the loss proved to be their undoing.
Japan waited with one last hope, but it was dashed as Uruguay narrowly defeated Tunisia in the Group E 2nd/3rd place match.
With 3 points and a goal difference of -1, Japan was hoping that one of Uruguay or Tunisia would pull off a big upset, but with Uruguay winning 1-0 and Tunisia moving into third place with 3 points and a goal difference of +1, Japan was left in the dust.
Group F hasn’t even started yet, but there is no wild card for Japan. Three of the four spots have already been claimed by Nigeria, who won Group D with two wins, one loss, and six points; New Zealand, who won Group A with four points; and Slovakia, who won Group B with three points, a goal difference of +1. Japan was automatically eliminated after Tunisia eliminated any chance of a final spot 메이저놀이터.
This marks the first time in 22 years that Japan has been knocked out in the group stages of a tournament, even in Argentina, since 2001. At the youth level, they had reached at least the round of 16. This time around, it was no different, but the upset loss to Israel was the difference.
Meanwhile, Tunisia, who are tied at +1 on goal difference but have been outplayed on goal difference by Slovakia, will have to wait for the results of their two Group F matches to decide whether they will qualify for the wild card.