Japan took the lead through Daisen Maeda in the 56th minute, before Anthony Elanga equalized for Sweden in the 62nd minute.
The Japanese team secured its qualification after finishing second in the group with 5 points, behind the leading Netherlands with 7 points after its victory over Tunisia 3-1.
As for Sweden, it reached the elimination rounds after finishing the group in third place with 4 points, benefiting from the goal difference, as it scored 7 goals and conceded the same, ensuring passage among the best eight teams occupying third place.
Japan faces Brazil in the round of 32.
The Japanese team has not lost to European teams in 11 consecutive matches, which is its longest unbeaten streak against European competitors, surpassing its previous streak of 10 matches between May 2006 and May 2009.
The Japanese national team, along with Germany, has the most players who contributed goals in this tournament, with 10 players, surpassing its previous record in one edition, when 8 players contributed goals in the 2022 World Cup.
On the other hand, Sweden scored 4 goals from outside the penalty area in this tournament, which is double what any other team scored, as Cape Verde and France have two goals each.
Elanga’s goal, from a distance of 28.9 meters, was the second furthest goal scored by a Swedish player in World Cup history since at least 1966, behind Anders Svensson’s goal against Argentina in 2002.
Elanga became the first Swedish player to score in two consecutive World Cup matches since Martin Dallin and Kennet Anderson in 1994, while Yuto Nagatomo, 39 years old, became the first Asian player to participate in five editions of the World Cup.
