Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma gave Japan a third-minute lead with a spectacular header but Colombia equalised later in the first half from Aston Villa teenager Jhon Duran. Eintracht Frankfurt striker Borre sealed the game with an acrobatic strike soon after the hour mark, throwing himself into a right-footed drive that blasted past Japan goalkeeper Daniel Schmidt.
Last week, Colombia and South Korea drew 2-2 in Seoul; the week before, Japan and Uruguay drew 1-1 in Tokyo. Mitoma has been in exciting form since joining Brighton last summer and he gave Japan the perfect lead when he rose to put Hidemasa Morita’s cross past Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Colombia had little possession of the ball in the first half, but they equalized in the 33rd minute when Deiver Machado struck on the left wing . Japan’s Takuma Nishimura, who scored against Uruguay on Friday, hit a long shot as the hosts tried to fight back before half-time.
Colombia showed more attacking intent after the break and Jorge Carrascal nearly scored with a deflected shot that went over the bar. Borre showed him how to do it a few minutes later, and Colombia continued to take the lead when Vargas saved Japan striker Ayase Ueda’s header with a close-in save.
