Takehiro Tomiyasu saw Japan’s remarkable World Cup come to an end after they were eliminated by Croatia in the round of 16 on penalties.
Tomi played all 120 minutes of the clash at the Al Janoub Stadium, and saw his side take the lead just before the interval through Daizen Maeda, however they were pegged back on 55 minutes thanks to an excellent Ivan Perisic header.
Despite the additional 30 minutes of extra-time, neither side could find the net again as the game ended 1-1, leading to the first penalty shootout of the tournament so far. The Samuari Blue saw three of their attempts saved by Croatia shot-stopper Dominik Livakovic to end their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.
It had been an incredible tournament for Tomi, who battled back from a hamstring injury to play his part in the famous comeback wins against Germany and Spain that ensured his nation topped their group, and make it to the knockout stages.
His three outings in Qatar took his cap tally up to 32 caps since making his debut in the months following the 2018 World Cup, during which time he has scored one goal.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
