Japan Advances in World Cup Despite Losing to Poland

Japan advanced to the second round of the World Cup on the sixth tiebreaker despite losing to Poland 1-0 in Volgograd, Russia, on Thursday.

Japan went into the game knowing it needed to win or draw to assure advancement. Its hopes seemed to be dashed in the 59th minute when Poland went on top as a poorly marked Jan Bednarek raced forward and scored off the free kick by Rafal Kurzawa.