Japan continued their unbetaen record to stretch to five-matches with a 3-1 victory over Canada in the final pool match in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh today.
With this victory, the Japanese moved to the top of the table standings with 13 points, two ahead of second-place Pakistan. They will now go into a showdown in tomorrow’s final against three-time champions Pakistan.
This will be Japan’s first qualification to the final in the history of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup that was inaugurated in 1983. Japan’s best finish in the tournament was a fourth-place after going down 5-3 to the Pakistanis for the bronze medal in the 2022 edition. This is their sixth appearance in the tournament.
Samurai Japan head coach Yoshihiro Anai rested his top players for tomorrow’s crucial encounter in the final against the Pakistanis.
On the opposite side, the Canadians did not hold back and continued to play an inspiring game in search of their first win of the tournament.
Canada’s perseverance and determination to win their first three points in this 30th edition of the SAS Cup paid dividends. Sean Davis fired the Canadians ahead with a 42nd minute field goal but the Japanese went 2-1 ahead with goals from Hiro Saito (43rd), Tsubasa Tanaka (56th), and Kose Kawabe (60th minute).
Following a 1-7 mauling by New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament, the Canadians suffered further blows by going down 6-2 against defending champions Malaysia, and then lost 1-0 to the Koreans.
They took a remarkable 2-0 lead against Pakistan in the first quarter and then found themselves back paddling as the three-time SAS Cup champions went on to register a 5-4 victory.
JAPAN: YOSHIHIRO ANAI (COACH).
“We still have some homework to do in scoring goals from penalty corners and field goals against Pakistan. If you analyse the game against Canada, we kept to our own rhythm. But against Pakistan the tempo of the match will be of higher intensity.
The Pakistanis are a skilled side and we saw that in the 1-1 draw match against us earlier. The whole team is very skillful and dangerous. There is not one player you can single out. Everyone is fast and of quality. I am sure they will change their strategies this time in the final. We also have new plans for the final. A new combination for the final.
We have to play an aggressive game in attacking but at the same time we need to beef up our defence. It is going to be a much better game than the last match (1-1) against them.”
CANADA: PATRICK TSHUTSHANI (COACH)
“Well, we have to keep getting better in tomorrow’s game against Korea (5-6th place). There has been some improvement in the team’s performance since our first match and I see gradual growth.
This tournament has been an important part of our preparation for the Nations Cup in Poland (May 31-June 9). How we perform here will determine the level of our preparation against tough teams in Poland. But we have to start getting winning results because that is what matters.”
