Hosts Japan on Thursday beat South Africa Under-23s 1-0 on the first day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Group A match was all square until the 71st minute when 20-year-old Real Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo scored for Japan.
Kubo received the ball on the right edge of the 18-yard area, cut inside, and drilled it past South Africa Keeper Ronwen Williams into the bottom left corner.
South Africa mounted attack after attack but coach David Notoane’s boys just couldn’t breach the Japanese rock solid defence.
