Japan edged Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday, with Junya Ito scoring in the 84th minute to finish a late surge engineered by Hajime Moriyasu’s bench. The result is a setback for A. McLeish ahead of the Euro qualifying window, Scotland still short of bite in Glasgow.
Scotland lined up in a 4-2-3-1, Nathan Patterson and Andrew Robertson pushing high while Scott McTominay operated off Lyndon Dykes. The hosts produced eight attempts but only three on target, all handled by Zion Suzuki. At the opposite end Angus Gunn made six saves to keep the first half level, denying long-range efforts from Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Kodai Sano.
Moriyasu overhauled his 3-4-2-1 at the interval, introducing Shogo Taniguchi for Watanabe, Kaoru Mitoma for Sano and Junnosuke Suzuki for Hiroki Ito. Ritsu Doan and Keito Nakamura followed on 62 minutes, with Junya Ito and Ayase Ueda arriving a minute later to pin Scotland deep. Kento Shiogai replaced Joel Fujita in the 78th minute, and six minutes later he slid the decisive pass for Ito to finish. Japan managed the closing stages despite yellow cards for Junnosuke Suzuki in the 65th minute and Doan in the 78th, with Daichi Kamada — also on from the 78th minute — controlling possession.
McLeish sent on Ryan Christie and George Hirst in the 63rd minute, then Kieran Tierney and Billy Gilmour at 71, but the reshuffle failed to restore momentum. Late introductions for Anthony Ralston and Findlay Curtis with nine minutes remaining could not prevent Japan from seeing out the win.
Key numbers
- Shots: Scotland 8, Japan 18
- On target: Scotland 3, Japan 7
- Possession: Scotland 45 percent, Japan 55 percent
- Saves: Angus Gunn 6, Zion Suzuki 3
- Corners: Scotland 3, Japan 8
Scotland now need a response before their next qualifier. Japan head back to Tokyo with confidence after Moriyasu’s second-string options executed the plan and Ito underlined why he remains first-choice on the right flank.
