There would have been plenty to cheer about on Thursday night in Yokohama — if fans were allowed to cheer.
Instead, the 8,356 in attendance at Nissan Stadium — all masked and silent during play under guidelines intended to prevent coronavirus infections — had to make do with applause as the Samurai Blue defeated archrival South Korea 3-0, with Miki Yamane, Daichi Kamada and Wataru Endo scoring in Japan’s first home game since November 2019.
The friendly was the first encounter between the two countries’ senior national teams in 10 years, although their domestic squads have clashed four times in the biennial East Asian championships. Captain Maya Yoshida was also on the pitch for that August 2011 game in Sapporo, which was also a 3-0 win for Japan.
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