YEKATERINBURG, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan coach Akira Nishino Sunday praised his players for suppressing the threat posed by Liverpool star Sadio Mane during the 2-2 draw with Senegal in the second round of Group H actions.
Mane made a strong start against the Asian side but faded away in the second half. Japan twice came from behind to earn a point and remain on track to earn a place in the round of 16 at Russia World Cup.
"It is very important to neutralise Mane and my players did a pretty good job neutralising him and abating his threat," Nishino said in the post-game news conference.
"We gave him too much space in the first half and he played freely to inspire his teammates. Fortunately after that I think we did pretty well," the coach added.
Up next for Japan is a meeting with Poland in Volgograd, where Nishino expects his players to be confident.
"To secure a passage to the round of 16 after two games was the highest of my goals and after the victory in the first game we wanted to be really aggressive towards the second game," he said. "We wanted another three points and secure the passage to the knockout stage, which did not come, but I think the result that we have is going to have a very positive impact on the third game."
