A goal in the final second allowed FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup veterans Japan to defeat Paraguay 5-4 as the host nation made their tournament debut in an all-time classic contest on Thursday.
The home side pulled back from 4-1 down, only for Takuya Akaguma to celebrate his 30th birthday in style with a perfect last-gasp header to complete a brace.
Japan’s Ozu Moreira also scored a double, including a barely-believable long-range free-kick, as did Paraguay’s Carlos Carballo.
Up next
Saturday November 23
[[flag-usa-xs]] USA - Japan [[flag-jpn-xs]] (17:50 local time)
[[flag-par-xs]] Paraguay - Switzerland [[flag-sui-xs]] (21:00 local time)