Japan will face Brazil in the round of 32 in Houston on Monday while Sweden progressed to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed sides after the sides played out a 1-1 draw in Dallas.Hajime Moriyasu’s side opened the scoring with a brilliant team effort in the 56th minute, ending with Daizen Maeda slotting home after a probing ball from Ritsu Doan into the Celtic forward’s feet.But Graham Potter’s team struck back through Anthony Elanga in the 62nd minute, cutting onto his left and sending a thunderbolt of a shot past Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.Sweden had opportunities to win and finish second, too — with Suzuki denying Elanga a second in the 93rd minute and then producing a fine save from an Alexander Isak header from a corner a minute later.Ultimately, however, the draw left both sides happy.Michael Cox and Patrick Iversen analyse the key talking points.Who will the teams in group F face next?Netherlands are through after topping the group and will play Morocco in Monterrey on Monday in the round of 32. The winners of that game will play their round of 16 game in Houston on July 4 against the winners of South Africa vs Canada.Japan finished second and will play Brazil on Monday in Houston. Should they pull off a surprise and win, then they will face the winners of Ivory Coast against either France or Norway in New York on July 5.Sweden finished third and The Athletic’s projection tool calculates they will most likely face the winners of Group I (again either France or Norway) in New York on Tuesday. There is also a possibility (26 per cent) they could play Germany on Boston on Monday. Both paths take them to a round of 16 game in Philadelphia on July 4.Tunisia finished bottom of the group after losing all three of their games.A team goal to rememberBefore the match on Wednesday, Potter warned against focusing on individual match-ups.“It’s not about talking about individuals,” he said. “The Japanese team… It’s more a collective threat, a collective attack, a collective defence.”That collective threat was on full display for Maeda’s opening goal. When Yukinari Sugawara initially played the ball into Ritsu Doan, you’d be hard-pressed to imagine where a goal might come from. Doan and Ayase Ueda were the only two Japan players in a sea of yellow shirts.Sweden had successfully stifled Japan all game by dropping their wingers back, but this time, Japan’s chemistry cracked the code.
Japan to face Brazil, Sweden through to World Cup round of 32 after entertaining draw
Japan and Sweden will both be happy with a draw that means Graham Potter's side join Hajime Moriyasu's in the round of 32










