Moussa Wague celebrates after becoming the youngest African player to score at the World Cup during Senegal’s 2-2 draw with Japan.
The 19-year-old full-back lashed one in on 71 minutes as Senegal looked to secure all three points. Samurai Blue, however fought back for a second time in the match when Pachuca forward Keisuke Honda tapped in at the back post after a scramble, ending a drought that stretches back to September 2016, to earn Japan a 2-2 draw.
Earlier in the game Liverpool forward Sadio Mane had taken advantage of an awful mistake from goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to deflect in an 11th-minute opener for the Lions of Teranga. New Real Betis winger Takashi Inui levelled things up in style on 34 minutes when he curled a shot into the bottom corner.
The result at Ekaterinburg Arena left both teams on four points at the midway point in the fight to make the round of 16. Neither side are guaranteed to qualify for the later stages after Colombia defeated Poland 0-3 in the other game in Group H. Senegal now face Colombia in the final game of the group stages, where a draw will be enough to see the Africans through to the knockout stages.
The winners of Group H play the runners-up in Group G, which sets up a potential match with England, depending on how Gareth Southgate’s men fare against Belgium on Thursday. The Three Lions will be in confident mood going into the final group fixture having seen off Panama with an impressive 6-1 win on Sunday. Belgium will also fancy their chances of topping the group having picked up six points already in the opening two games, including a 5-2 thumping of Tunisia.
