Japan opens Olympic men's soccer with 1-0 win over SAfrica

TOKYO (AP) — An empty stadium is not how Japanese athletes imagined competing for the first time in Tokyo at their home Olympics.

At least the men's soccer team won on Thursday — a day before the opening ceremony of the pandemic-impacted games.

Takefusa Kubo scored the only goal with a curling strike off the post in the 71st minute that clinched a 1-0 victory over South Africa at the Tokyo Stadium.

Kubo is a 20-year-old forward signed up to Real Madrid who has yet to play for the Spanish giants while gaining first-team experience elsewhere in La Liga.

In the other Group A game, Mexico beat France 4-1.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports