Japan 2-0 Ghana Player Ratings: Ritsu Doan and Kaishu Sano Star as Japan Triumph Over Ghana Once Again

Japan locked horns with Ghana in their first friendly of the recent international break at the Toyota Stadium in Japan. Both teams were coming off a winning streak, which further fueled the matchup between the two teams. Japan had lost just once in their previous eight games; the only defeat came against the USA, where they lost 0-2.

The Blue Samurai were coming off a brilliant 3-2 comeback win against Brazil in their last friendly game and hoped to continue their rich vein of form in this fixture. Ghana, on the other hand, have also been unbeaten in their last five games since a loss to Nigeria in May. None of the fixtures between the Japan national football team and the Ghana national football team had ended in a draw before, and naturally, people had high hopes that one side would come out on top just like the previous encounters.

The Japan vs Ghana fixture saw the Japanese players dominate the field till the final whistle. The Japan national football team started the game with their free-flowing, possession-based football, while Ghana looked to play on the counter and physically outclass the Blue Samurai, especially in the midfield area. The Japan national football team started the match as the better of the two teams, as they kept most of the ball and looked more dangerous in the final third compared to their counterparts. It was in the 6th minute when Takumi Minamino took the first shot of the match, which was completely dealt with by Joseph Anang, who was making his debut for the Ghana national football team in this match. A few minutes later, Junnosuke Suzuki saw his shot blocked as he tried to have a go from 35 yards out.

In the 15th minute, Ritsu Doan skied the ball from the centre of the penalty area, missing a glorious chance. The sustained pressure from Japan paid dividends as Kaishu Sano found Takumi Minamino at the centre of the penalty box with a neat pass, and the Monaco midfielder placed the ball in the bottom right corner of the net quite smoothly.

The Ghana national football team shook things up after the goal and looked like a much better side than they were at the start. They won a lot of fouls in the middle of the pitch, but were unable to find the net ultimately. Ghana came close through strikes from debutant Derrick Kohn and Jonas Adjetey, but their efforts went just wide of the right post. The score remained 1-0 as the players went off the field following the half-time whistle.

In the second half, the Blue Samurai started with the same intensity they displayed in the first half.

Japan scored their second goal of the match at the 60-minute mark, as Ritsu Doan sprinted down the right flank and hit a low shot from the right-hand side of the box past the diving Anang. Ghana were chasing shadows in the second half as nothing seemed to go their way. A couple of shots from outside the box did test Hayakawa a bit, but they weren't too much danger.

Japan Player Ratings vs Ghana

Here are Sportsdunia's Japan player ratings from the Japan vs Ghana international friendly match.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match goes to Takumi Minamino.