Japan vs Egypt Olympic Soccer Quarterfinal: Grades, Twitter Reaction & Analysis

It was a win or go home situation for both nations heading into this quarterfinal game and Japan was determined to stay in the London Games a little while longer.

The Japanese defeated Egypt by a score of 3-0 and will advance to the men's soccer tournament semifinals.

Both teams had quality offensive possessions throughout the contest, but Egypt's biggest challenge was getting around a swarming Japanese defense.

The nation was also crippled when Saadelin Saad earned a red card for dumping one of Japan's attackers in the penalty box. Egypt was forced to play part of the first half and the entirety of the second with just 10 men on the pitch.

Before the red card was even issued to Saad, though, Japan had already taken the lead in the contest thanks to Kensuke Nagai's 14th-minute goal. Nagai was able to maneuver around the Egyptian goalkeeper and get off an open-goal shot.

Unfortunately for Japan, Nagai would injure himself during his goal-scoring play and would be carted off the field soon after giving his team the lead. He tried valiantly to return to the pitch, but was unable to prove to the referees he could continue and was forced to exit in the 17th minute.

The Egyptians had two quality offensive chances that stand out, one happening towards the end of the first half and the second in the 68th-minute. Both chances saw Japan's goalkeeper come a bit too far out of the box, but the team's defense was just too much for the Egyptian offense to overcome.

The second half saw Japan simply overwhelm the Egypt defense, tacking on two more goals and really controlling the game throughout the last 45 minutes of play.

Twitter Reaction

While Global midfielder Yu Hoshide may not be playing for his country in London, he is still showing his support for his country via his Twitter account, tweeting this out during the game:

"

watching #London2012 Olympic men's football Japan vs Egypt with @masa24omura, @1yrrej and Yuki. Let's go Japan!!

— Yu Hoshide / 星出悠 (@yuhoshide) August 4, 2012"

Journalist and former Tranmere Rovers player Steve Sutcliffe was impressed by the huge turnout for the contest at Old Trafford, tweeting:

"

Wow 70,752 attendance for Egypt vs Japan at OT. #olympics

— Steve Sutcliffe (@SteveOSutcliffe) August 4, 2012"

Grades

Maya Yoshida: A

Yoshida is the Japanese captain and had his attacking front harassing the Egypt defense the entire game, with 11 shots and converting two of their three shots on goal during the contest. When you're facing an elimination game on the Olympic stage, the pressure doesn't get much higher.

Yoshida did everything you could ask of an offensive captain, leading his attackers into opposing territory and providing the second goal of the game. While he wasn't directly involved with the other two goals, credit goes to the captain for his efforts in this one.

Saandelin Saad: D

Speaking of the pressure on the Olympic stage, Saad has to get the D grade for Egypt after putting his team down a man for the entirety of the second half.

It's not as if the Egyptians were favored to win the tournament or anything, but with Spain's early exit they had a chance to really surprise the football world by defeating Japan and making the semifinals.

While the loss is not entirely on the shoulders of the red-carded man, the event happened so early on in the contest that there was little chance for Egypt to get back into the contest. Having already been down a goal at that time, it put an incredible amount of pressure on the team and Egypt was simply unable to put together any big offensive threats afterwards. 

What's Next?

Japan will now take on the winner of Mexico vs. Senegal in the semifinals of the men's tournament, looking to reach the gold medal game in that contest.