World Cup 2018: Colombia vs Japan; Best & Worst Players from the game

#5 Best: Yuya Osako

The tireless striker

Japan and mostly Asian teams have to deal with the height disadvantage over the other football playing countries. The average height of this Japanese team was almost 4 centimeters shorter than their Colombian counterparts. Still, the winner came through a headed attempt from Yuyo Osako.

Osako was a livewire on the field, as his incessant energy and determination to win the ball back meant that Japan’s first line of defence was strong enough to regain possession.

Yuya, despite playing as the sole striker upfront, made it sure that he regularly dropped to the midfield in order to orchestrate the passing moves in a more cohesive manner. His understanding with Kagawa was quite visible, as both of them made the required, accurate movements whenever Japan went on an attacking mode.

Osako shifted all across the forward line, further demonstrating his tendency and tenacity to spot and accordingly attack at the holes in the opposition’s backline. He tracked back during set-pieces and carried the ball along with him in the counter-attacks.

Most importantly, Yuya’s jump and accuracy of the header that eventually resulted in a victory for Japan is a pure display of strong resolve and commitment towards getting his team over the finishing line.