Two goals by Amine Gouiri gave France a 2-1 victory over Japan in Group E at the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 on Wednesday.
It was Les Bleuets that caused the Japanese problems in the early stages at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, with Gouiri posing a particular threat. The Olympique Lyonnais youngster opened the scoring on 13 minutes, as he powered a shot through the legs of Japan goalkeeper Kosei Tani.
Despite falling behind, Japan grew into the contest and had chances themselves. The best of those opportunities was a free-kick from Keito Nakamura, which took a big deflection off the France wall and flew just wide. At the other end, Maxence Caqueret was unlucky not to see a long-range strike hit the target before the break.
The prolific Gouiri would score again just past the midway point of the second half, as he finished off a superb bit of inter-play with Yacine Adli in the Japanese box. Yet, the second France goal prompted a reply for Japan, who halved the deficit through a Taisei Miyashiro penalty. Nonetheless, the French held on for a second straight win in the competition.
Bron: fifa.com
