Canada ties Japan in Olympic soccer as Tokyo sees 6 month high in COVID-19 cases

Mana Iwabuchi scored successful the 84th infinitesimal and Japan pulled into a 1-1 gully with Canada to unfastened the Olympic women’s shot tourney connected Wednesday.

Christine Sinclair, the all-time starring planetary scorer among men and women, scored her 187th vocation extremity successful the sixth infinitesimal to springiness the Canadians the aboriginal lead. It came successful her 300th quality with the team.

Iwabuchi answered precocious with a agelong onslaught that caught Canada goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe retired of position.

The Tokyo Games are Canada’s fourth Olympics. The squad has won bronze medals successful the past two.

Sinclair has played successful each 4 appearances, scoring 12 goals successful 15 games _ including the game-winner against Brazil successful the third-place lucifer successful 2016.

The Canadians are playing nether manager Bev Priestman, who took implicit erstwhile Kenneth Heiner-Moller stepped down past June.

Japan, which qualified arsenic hosts, did not marque the tract for Rio de Janeiro successful 2016. Known arsenic the Nadeshiko, Japan won metallic astatine the 2012 London Games.

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Group play continues connected Saturday with Canada facing Chile and Japan playing Britain astatine the Sapporo Dome. Earlier Wednesday, Britain defeated Chile 2-0.

Tokyo’s coronavirus infections person surged to a six-month precocious with the Olympic big metropolis logging 1,832 caller cases conscionable 2 days earlier the Games open.

Tokyo is presently nether its 4th authorities of emergency, which volition past until Aug. 22, covering the full duration of the Olympics that commencement Friday and extremity Aug. 8. Fans are banned from each venues successful the Tokyo area.

Japan Medical Association President Toshio Nakagawa says the surge has been expected careless of the Olympics. Experts accidental cases among younger, unvaccinated radical are sharply rising arsenic Japan’s inoculation thrust loses steam owed to proviso uncertainty. About 23 per cent of Japanese are afloat vaccinated.

Health experts connected Wednesday warned Tokyo’s infections would lone worsen successful coming weeks. Dr. Norio Ohmagari, the Tokyo metropolitan government’s adept sheet member, says Tokyo’s mean regular cases could deed astir 2,600 successful 2 weeks if they proceed astatine the existent pace.

Japan has recorded astir 84,800 infections and much than 15,000 confirmed deaths since the commencement of the pandemic, astir of them since the latest question successful January.