The England Blind team took another step forward in their preparation for the European Championships, by beating hosts and one of the tournament favourites Japan by 2-0.
It was a dominant performance from the Para Lions, who weathered a quick start from the hosts but quickly got onto the ball and created many opportunities with a controlled passing game which put Japan on the back foot.
Good saves from the excellent Japanese goalkeeper kept them in the game, with England's own Dylan Malpas alert to limited shots from long range. However neither team could break the deadlock and it was 0-0 going into the break.
The second half started similar to the first with Japan coming out the blocks quicker than England, with Malpas in goal saving smartly from the tricky Japanese wingers and strong defending from Harris and Turnham turning things around in favour of England.
But it was a standout performance from captain Daniel English which was far to good for the Japanese defence as English seemed to get in at will, with fine support from Brendan Coleman, who himself had good chances to get on the score sheet.
English scored a fine goal midway through the second half after rolling a defender and striking from just outside the box.
He then scored an even better goal, with just over two minutes remaining, after beating the four man press and smashing the ball into the roof of the net on the angle.
The jubilant English team saw out the game by rotating players and killing the clock to secure a fine victory and a put themselves into the final against Argentina on Sunday morning.
Head coach Jon Pugh said: “To a man, each player contributed to a very professional performance and I was very impressed how they stuck to the job at hand, in a very difficult environment.
“We have a very dedicated team of staff and players who meticulously prepared for this game, and I’m very proud and excited by the togetherness and belief in there abilities to win games like this.
“Tomorrow we will be up against one of the worlds best teams, but we will continue to prepare and try to be ready for the challenge.”
