Japan head coach Akira Nishino said Thursday he instructed his players to hold on for a 1-0 loss against Poland, knowing the result was likely to get them through to the World Cup round of 16.Needing either a point from the game or to avoid conceding more goals than Senegal in the case of both joint Group H leaders losing, Japan switched to a defensive approach at Volgograd Arena as the latter scenario began to look likely.Down a goal to Poland but with news of Colombia's 1-0 lead over Senegal giving Japan one foot in the knockout stage thanks to the "fair play" tie-breaker, the Samurai Blu…READ FULL ARTICLE
