An own goal and Kensuke Honda’s strike in the final 10 minutes led Japan to a 2-0 friendly win over a second-string Scotland in Yokohama, Japan, yesterday.
Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Christophe Berra slotted into his own net from a cross by Japan defender Yuichi Komano on 83 minutes.
The Blue Samurai went further ahead on the stroke of injury time when Honda, a VVV Venlo midfielder, slammed in a rebound off Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto’s shot inside the box.
It was Japan’s first win in three international matches against Scotland, having drawn twice before.
Japan, who have qualified for the World Cup, face Togo in another home friendly in Miyagi next Wednesday.
Okada rested several of Japan’s key players, including midfield lynchpins Shunsuke Nakamura of Espanyol and Yasuhito Endo of Gamba Osaka, just two days after his squad outclassed Hong Kong 6-0 in an Asian Cup qualifier at home.
Scotland manager George Burley has brought an experimental squad missing 10 regulars, including Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher and Tottenham fullback Alan Hutton.
Before the match at the Yokohama International Stadium, a minute of silence was observed in memory of former Scottish Football Association president David Will, who died of cancer on Sept. 24.
■AUSTRALIA V NETHERLANDS
AFP, SYDNEY
The Netherlands have still to beat Australia in three meetings after they had to settle with a scoreless draw in their international friendly in Sydney yesterday.
The world No. 3 Dutch dominated but could not find a way through the stubborn Australian defense with their intricate short passing game.
Both nations have already qualified for next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa, but the 14th-ranked Socceroos have yet to lose to the Dutchmen in three games over the last three years.
The Australians had a chance to snatch victory in the final minutes when Brett Holman was clear on goal but he blasted his volley over the bar.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB