New Caledonia hold mighty Japan 1-1

Kolkata, October 14: After making wholesale changes, Japan were made to pay by plucky New Caledonia.

But the 1-1 draw was enough for them to qualify for the Round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017.

Keito Nakamura scored his fourth goal of the competition and Jekob Jeno equalised dramatically in the 83rd minute for New Caledonia, reports fifa.com.s

Although Japan had the vast majority of possession, the Oceania representatives showed marked improvement after lopsided defeats to France and Honduras in their first two matches.

And they showed great bravery to fight their way back into a first half, in which they went behind in the sixth minute to Nakamura's shot from a tight angle and saw their woodwork rattled twice.

Spurred on by the appreciative Indian crowd in Kolkata, they had a good chance to equalise near the half-hour mark when Bernard Iwa broke free into the Japanese third.

But he launched a hasty shot from the edge of the area with just the goalkeeper to beat.

The second half was even more balanced, and Theo Bosshard almost scored from a great position inside the Japanese box in the 60th minute, but his shot flashed past the right post.

Another good chance was denied by the Japanese goalkeeper, who tipped a shot around the post, but it was from that corner that Jeno headed in his goal.