TOKYO: Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu backed his team to grind out wins at the World Cup after edging Iceland 1-0 in their final warm-up friendly in Tokyo on Sunday.

Substitute Koki Ogawa scored in the 87th minute to send Japan to the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico on a high after a tough night in front of more than 60,000 at the National Stadium.

Japan looked flat after starting their World Cup preparations this week but Moriyasu said snatching a win was a good sign for the tournament ahead.

“It was difficult to break Iceland open and they had some dangerous chances on the counter-attack,” he said.

“But we kept a clean sheet and won, and you get games like that at the World Cup, so this will help us.”

Japan will face the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia in Group ‘F’ and play the Dutch in their opener on June 14.

They will be without winger Kaoru Mitoma, who was ruled out of the World Cup after injuring his hamstring less than a week before Moriyasu named his squad.

Former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu returned for his first international appearance in two years after long periods out through injury.

Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo also returned from injury to start the game.

Tomiyasu started alongside Maya Yoshida, who captained Japan at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and was recalled for a final farewell. The 37-year-old Yoshida, who is not in Japan’s World Cup squad, was given a guard of honour by both teams after coming off in the 13th minute, having won his 127th cap.

In Sunday’s other friendly, Switzerland scored three goals in the first half but added only one more after the break as they beat Jordan 4-1.

Both teams are World Cup bound but there was an obvious gulf in class as Breel Embolo converted the first spot kick in the 28th minute after a foul on Remo Freuler.

Embolo provided a defence-splitting pass for Dan Ndoye to make it 2-0 five minutes later and a foul on Embolo in stoppage time at the end of the half saw captain Granit Xhaka convert the second penalty with the last kick of the half.

Jordan, who are making their World Cup debut at the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, pulled one back in the 52nd minute through 20-year-old Odeh Fakhoury, who squeezed a shot into the corner of the Swiss goal from the edge of the penalty area.

Christian Fassnacht scored his first national team goal in five years to restore the Swiss three-goal advantage with 11 minutes left.

A sudden torrential downpour in the closing minutes saw the final whistle blown two minutes short of the 90-minute mark and the Swiss were forced to cut short their planned send off in front of their home fans before they head to the United States on Tuesday.

MEXICO EDGE AUSTRALIA

On Saturday, World Cup co-hosts Mexico savoured a confidence-building 1-0 friendly win over Australia at the Rose Bowl Stadium, outside Los Angeles.

A Johan Vasquez header from a set-piece gave Mexico the lead in the 28th minute, and the much-changed team held on successfully despite a better second half from the Socceroos following a shaky start.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre made nine changes from the starting 11 that beat Ghana 2-0 in a friendly in Puebla last week.

There was much to like about the performance of the fringe line-up, barring a howling mistake in defence that should have cost an equalising goal in added time before the main interval. Mexico dominated possession but Australia, playing largely on the counter and generally solid in defense, spurned several good chances to silence the partisan crowd.

The contest took place at the historic venue that hosted the last World Cup final in the US, in 1994, though the Rose Bowl will not feature in this tournament.

The overwhelming majority of supporters were clad in green for Mexico, with just a smattering of Australian yellow dotted around the cavernous stands.

Mexico open the World Cup on June 11 against South Africa in Mexico City before playing South Korea and the Czech Republic. Australia start their campaign against Turkey on June 13, then meet co-hosts United States and Paraguay.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Son Heung-min answered questions about his form in convincing fashion, netting twice as South Korea thrashed Trinidad and Tobago 5-0.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026