Japan gave head coach Hajime Moriyasu reason to celebrate his 100th match in charge on Tuesday night, rounding out the year with a largely comfortable 3-0 victory over Bolivia.
Samurai Blue took the lead in the fourth minute through Daichi Kamada’s left-foot finish across goal from Takefusa Kubo’s cross, and Japan remained in control for much of the first half.
Bolivia was able to apply more pressure upon the restart, but the momentum shifted with Japan’s 66th-minute introduction of substitutes Keito Nakamura, Shuto Machino and Ayase Ueda. Machino quickly doubled Japan’s lead after 70 minutes, and seven minutes later, Nakamura added a third, doing well to create space for a shot after Ueda found him in the box.
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