Japan’s
guilt should be amplified by the fact they were facing 10 men for more
than 50 minutes – Kostas Katsouranis dismissed following two needless
bookings – but it would not be in keeping with the spirit of these
finals to celebrate the subsequent resistance of the Greeks.
It
was Greece who were first to threaten after a cagey start when
Panagiotis Kone took charge of possession on halfway before darting
forward and testing Eiji Kawashima from 25 yards, the goalkeeper forced
to gather at the second attempt.
At
the other end it wasn’t until the 19th minute that Orestis Karnezis was
called into action as he flopped low to repel Yuya Osako’s measured
steer from just outside the area.
The
Munich 1860 frontman was encouraged by his range-finder and went close
soon after when he wriggled free of two Greek defenders before whipping
inches wide from 20 yards out. It
was Japan bossing matters and Keisuke Honda drew a save – albeit a
clumsy one – from Karnezis as he scampered to palm clear the Milan
midfielder’s curling free-kick.
[ Source - DailyMotion ] >> Match Highlights <<
