The Kirin Cup is a tradition in Japan. Since 1978, teams from around the world have been invited to compete. Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Denmark were the participants this year. Two Werder players were in action for their respective national sides. Jannik Vestergaard and Izet Hajrovic met in the semi-final and both played again on Monday.
07.06.2016, 09:00 CEST, Third-place play-off: Denmark vs. Bulgaria 4-0 (1-0)
Denmark, for whom Jannik Vestergaard started in central defence, put their opponents under pressure from the start and demonstrated early on that they wanted to finish the Kirin Cup on a high. Eriksen fired the Danes to third place with a perfect hat-trick in the space of ten minutes. The defence remained resolute and didn’t allow the opposition any shots on goal. Even though it was only a friendly tournament, Denmark celebrated their victory afterwards as shown by the video posted on Instagram by the Danish football association.
07.06.2016, 12:30 CEST, Final: Japan vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 (1-1)
Bosnia & Herzegovina met Japan, who had beaten Bulgaria in the first round, in the final of the Kirin Cup. Hajrovic started the game for Bosnia. The hosts made the brighter start to the match and took the lead through Hannover’s Hiroshi Kiyotake. Bosnia equalised just one minute later before scoring the winner in the second half. Hajrovic was substituted in added time and put in a solid performance.
Incidentally, up until 1988, the Kirin Cup - with the exception of hosts Japan - was contested by clubs and not national sides. Record victors in the tournament: Werder Bremen. The Green-Whites accepted an invitation to the 1982 and 1986 tournament and were crowned champions on both occasions.
