YOKOHAMA - Zion Suzuki made a decisive save as Japan beat Ecuador 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the semifinals of the Kirin Cup tournament on Thursday.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper dived low to his left to deny Ecuador's third penalty taker, Denil Castillo, at Nissan Stadium, where Japan scored all their five, with Daizen Maeda firing high into the net to seal the win.
They will take on New Zealand in the final at MUFG Stadium in Tokyo on Monday in the four-team tournament after the Oceanian side overcame Panama 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the other semifinal.
"I had the whole stadium's support behind me," Suzuki said. "My teammates did their job by scoring their penalties. Winning this tournament is our target, and we want to get the trophy."
The Samurai Blue have beaten Uruguay 3-1 and Venezuela 2-1 in the first two of their four friendlies since last week.
Against Ecuador, Moriyasu fielded his World Cup members apart from lone striker Kaina Tanimura, the Yokohama F Marinos man getting the nod at his club's home ground on the back of his six goals from eight matches in the new J.League first-division season.
Takefusa Kubo, whose playing time has been limited at Real Sociedad this campaign, started for the first time in this series for Japan and provided an attacking spark, while Yuito Suzuki's shot from distance midway through the first half failed to hit the target.
Japan's intense press in the opposing half limited Ecuador until Keny Arroyo's shot from distance flew over the bar minutes before halftime, while Japan attacker Suzuki's low effort in the 65th minute was saved by keeper Hernan Galindez.
Junya Ito came on as part of a triple change and dragged his shot just wide from inside the box following a pass from Keito Nakamura, while Jordy Caicedo placed his shot wide in the closing minutes as the two sides could not be separated in 90 minutes.
"To win on penalties showed our players' determination to win, which is wonderful," said Moriyasu, who lauded Ecuador as "World Cup standard." "There are lots of issues to work on, and I'm sure the players felt what they can do while playing under high intensity."
