Japan defeated Ghana 2-0 in an International Friendly on 14 November, with the hosts controlling proceedings through superior clinical finishing despite marginal expected goals metrics. Playing in a 3-4-2-1 formation, Japan created clearer opportunities, registering 14 shots with five on target against Ghana's seven shots and two on target. The expected goals figures revealed a closely contested encounter—Japan 1.24 xG, Ghana 1.22 xG—yet the decisive difference came in conversion efficiency. Ritsu Doan opened the scoring for the home side, whilst Japan's second goal proved the difference in a match where both teams generated similar quality chances. Ghana's defensive structure, deployed in a 5-4-1 setup, limited Japan's dominance in open play, though the visitors' goalkeeper maintained a perfect 100% save percentage despite facing five shots on target. Benjamin Abraham refereed the encounter without incident. Japan's clinical finishing in a low-xG game underscores their edge over Ghana in this fixture.
Read it this way: PSxG conceded is how dangerous the shots on target were, Goals conceded is how many actually went in, Goals saved is the gap between the two (higher is better, a minus means he should have saved more), and Save % is the share of on-target shots kept out.
Japan GK
PSxG conceded0.00
Goals conceded0
Goals saved0.00
Save %100.0%
Ghana GK
PSxG conceded2.00
Goals conceded2
Goals saved0.00
Save %60.0%
Both keepers had a routine night, with little to separate them.
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Inside the dashboards
Attack vs DefensexG, shots & goals — Home/Away per competition
Form Index & ReboundL5 momentum bar with rebound state per team
Goal Geolocation MapWhere the team scores & concedes — pitch heat
Cards IntelligenceYellow/Red filtered by referee & formation
Corner MasteryDistribution per opponent & tactical context
Top Scorers Cross-RefSquad ranked vs opponent & double-scorer combos
Referee TendencyTeam output under each referee they played for
Goalkeeper WeaknessWhere the keeper concedes — by zone & foot