Poland's Robert Lewandowski misses a chance to score. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - The jeers that rained down on Japan during their 1-0 defeat by Poland in Volgograd may suggest otherwise, but the Samurai Blue's unedifying decision to wind down the clock and forgo the push for an equaliser had 'fair play' at its heart.
The defeat left Japan on the same points, goals and goal difference as Senegal, who were also 1-0 losers on Wednesday to Colombia in Samara, but it was Akira Nishino's side that snuck into the last 16 at the expense of the Africans.
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