News about Ko Itakura

Granit Xhaka scored an excellent goal and Florian Wirtz netted a late winner as  champions Bayer Leverkusen secured a 3-2 win away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday, extending their unbeaten league run into the new campaign. Leverkusen were awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time for Ko Itakura's foul on substitute Amine Adli and Wirtz scored on a rebound to earn the visitors the three points. Xhaka opened the scoring for Leverkusen in the 12th minute with a powerful strike from outside the box before Wirtz doubled their lead in the 38th on a rebound.

Schalke 04 is unquestionably part of not only the furniture, but also the country's upper echelons. The Royal Blues have played in Europe every season from 1991-2002 through 2018-19. In seven of those 16 seasons, and even reached the semi-finals in 2010-11, they reached the Champions League proper, before losing to Manchester United. Bayern Munich has monopoly on the game, winning the Bundesliga for ten years in a row, but Schalke - who sees themselves among Borussia Dortmund's top of the rest' - is often close to challenging the Bavarian giants.

As Japan takes on Croatia in the last-16 on Monday, they will attempt to make history by making the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time. Japan appeared to have their work cut out to reach the knockout stages after being placed in a consortium with Spain and Germany, but they did win both European giants, despite losing to Costa Rica in between. It's been far from simple for Japan to progress to this round, and the two nations will be desperate for their fairytale run to continue.

Group E will come to an end, with all four squads still in with a chance of qualifying for the final-16. Costa Rica reacted in style from their 7-0 loss at the hands of Spain to beat Japan, while Germany salvaged a late draw against Spain in order to keep their slim hopes alive. It means that Spain and Japan will clash in their last game, with both needing results to ensure they succeed. Sportsmail tells you what you need to hear about the Japan vs. Spain clash.

As Japan takes on Costa Rica at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Sunday afternoon, they will be hoping to make it two wins from two victories. Costa Rica will be looking for revenge against Japan, having lost 7-0 to Spain in their first game of the tournament. Well, with the match fast approaching, Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to hear about the Group E game.