Japan beats Ghana 3-1 in friendly

Japan beats Ghana 3-1 in friendly

Published Sep. 10, 2013 9:39 a.m. ET

Shinji Kagawa, Yasuhito Endo and Keisuke Honda scored second-half goals as Japan beat an experimental Ghana side 3-1 in a friendly on Tuesday.

Asamoah Gyan and Michael Essien were among 10 top players dropped from the Ghana squad for the match at Yokohama International Stadium.

Kevin-Prince Boateng also didn't make the trip for Ghana, which beat Zambia 2-1 on Friday to secure one of seven remaining places in Africa's final playoffs for the World Cup.

Frank Acheampong put Ghana on the scoresheet in the 24th minute on a left-footed effort that deflected off a defender and beat Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.

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Midfielder Kagawa equalized in the 50th minute and Endo and Honda widened the lead for Japan, which has already qualified for the World Cup.

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