Japan hold Senegal 2-2
Yekaterinburg, June 24: Takashi Inui inspired Japan to come back from behind twice to hold Senegal 2-2 in a FIFA World Cup Group H contest at the Ekaterinburg Arena here on Sunday.
The wide forward pulled Japan level in the 34th minute after forward Sadio Mane had given Senegal the lead in the 11th minute. Senegal got ahead again through right-back Moussa Wague but Inui assisted for veteran Keisuke Honda's equaliser in the 78th minute.
The hard-fought draw didn't do any harm to either of the sides as they are firmly in contention to reach the pre-quarterfinals. Following the draw, both Japan and Senegal have four points each after the conclusion of their respective second matches in Group H.
The Asian outfit showed a lot of determination and resoluteness to get a point from the game. The way the game started, but it seemed that the Africans will walk away winners like they did against Poland in their opener. But Japan were up to the task.
Senegal threatened early with their pace up front and relied on their counter-attack game. Especially right winger Ismail Sarr and young right-back Wague dominated Japanese left winger Inui and left-back Yuto Nagatomo.
Senegal took the lead in the 11th minute and Japan succumbed under early pressure for the opening goal. Wague crossed to the right but midfielder Genki Haraguchi botched an attempted headed clearance on the left and the ball fell to Youssouf Sabaly. The latter took a shot at goal and goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima punched the ball against the legs of Mane as it rolled into the net.
After the goal, Senegal took it easy as Japan took some time to get into the game. The goal certainly made Japan determined to find the equaliser.
They made some fine moves but always a Senegalese counter-attack was in their minds which were slightly stopping them from going full throttle. However, they did stretch Senegal in their own half as the Africans defended deep.
As the match crossed the 25-minute mark, Japan looked confident and more comfortable on the ball as the Senegal team had stopped pressing and chasing the ball.
Japan were rewarded for their efforts in the 34th minute as Nagatomo, on the left, brought down a pass from over the top before slipping the ball to Inui, who then curled a low shot past a couple of defenders and into the bottom right corner from 15 yards.
Five minutes later, off a counter-attack, Senegal could have regained the lead if M'biaye Niang had come up with a strong chip past an onrushing keeper Kawashima after being put through by Badoua Ndiaye.
In the second half, Japan continued to impress as Yuya Osako, who hardly made a decisive shot in the first half, tested Senegal goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye twice within the first five minutes, one through a header and another with a rebound shot.
Osako then did well to gallop down the left corner of the Senegalse box before back-heeling the ball into the path of the marching Inui, who once again launched a lethal curling shot which beat Khadim and bounced off the crossbar in the 65th minute.
However, six minutes later, Senegal scored against the run of play when Wague blasted the ball into the net with a right-footer from the right as he connected a cross from Sabaly.
Senegal's lead lasted only seven minutes with Japan equalizing through Honda, who had come on as a substitute a minute after Senegal's goal. A cross was half-heartedly cleared by goalkeeper Khadim who came off his line and Inui grabbed the ball on the left before his cross to the right saw Honda's left-footer enter the Senegalese goal without resistance.
Later, both fought hard to score the winner but there was not any as the match ended 2-2.
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NITI Aayog's MMR blueprint a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, Nov 17: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday alleged that the NITI Aayog's blueprint to develop the metropolitan region was a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra by undermining the BMC's importance.
If voted to power, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will scrap the MoU signed between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and MMRDA as it is aimed at diminishing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's importance, he said.
Addressing a rally at the BKC ground in Mumbai on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the assembly elections concluded, Thackeray said he wouldn't hesitate to disband the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) if it encroaches on the BMC's jurisdiction.
"A conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra is not just a loose talk but an impending serious crisis. The ploy is real but we will never allow this to happen," he said.
Thackeray said the MMRDA and WEF signed an agreement in September to develop MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) as a global economic hub which was signed after Niti Aayog's report on MMR development.
"The Niti Aayog's blueprint diminishes the importance of the Mumbai civic body which is a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra," he alleged.
Thackeray said the first decision of the MVA government will be to scrap policies of the (Mahayuti) government which handed over Mumbai's land to the Adani group.
The former chief minister said he was "not anti-development but is anti-destruction".
Thackeray claimed the MVA government headed by him was toppled (in June 2022) and Shiv Sena split because he had not allowed the looting of Maharashtra.
In an apparent reference to the Shiv Sena MLAs' disqualification case in the Supreme Court, saying, "The courts haven't given me justice. I seek justice from you for the sake of Maharashtra".
Thackeray said the BJP had to construct the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who had banned RSS, in Gujarat and seek votes in Maharashtra in Balasaheb Thackeray's name, which he said was "revenge of time".
Attacking PM Narendra Modi over the "Ek hai to Safe Hai" slogan, Thackeray said if people feel unsafe while Modi is at the helm then he should resign.
"Only corrupt and traitors feel safe when Modi is around," he alleged.
Thackeray said Maharashtra was facing a grave crisis as "airports, ports, electricity, mines, and schools are being handed over to Adani".
Urging people to support the MVA, Thackeray said Maharashtra will be destroyed if the Mahayuti returns to power.
Thackeray recalled Shiv Sena's support for the abrogation of Article 370 and Bal Thackeray sheltering Kashmiri pandits fleeing persecution.
"Amit Shah and Narendra Modi weren't known to the world at that time," he said.
Targeting the BJP over its poll campaign, he said the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir doesn't impact Minimum Support Price, unemployment, and women's security in Maharashtra.
He said people of Gujarat should realise that Modi and Amit Shah have created a barrier between the western state and the rest of the country.
"How can they move projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat? You should stop them," he added.
