Ah, the one that got away. We’ve all had them.
And last night, it was Keisuke Honda’s turn as the Japanese international missed an open goal from six yards out in the Samurai Blue’s friendly against Ghana.
The opportunity came in the 28th minute when Yoichiro Kakitani burst through the midfield, latched onto the outlet pass and curled a perfect ball around Ghanian defense and onto the foot of Honda.
With Ghana goalkeeper Razak Brimah in full stretch but well beaten, Honda nipped under the ball just enough to send it flying over the bar. The missed opportunity would have leveled the match for Japan after Black Stars striker Frank Acheampong opened the scoring in the 24th minute.
Honda would get his revenge, however. After second half goals by Shinji Kagawa and Yashuito Endō handed Japan a 2-1 lead, Honda put the friendly out of reach with a 72nd minute strike to send a packed Saitama Stadium into a frenzy.