Soccer: Urawa Reds beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-2 in friendly

Kasper Junker powered Urawa Reds to a 4-2 win over Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday, netting twice in the opening half of their international club friendly at Saitama Stadium.

The Danish forward struck in the 19th and 27th minutes against a Frankfurt outfit featuring former Urawa fan favorite Makoto Hasebe, who helped the J-League club win domestic and Asian titles before moving to the German Bundesliga.

The 38-year-old former Japan captain's participation was in question due to a knee injury, but he came off the bench for the visitors in the 75th minute, receiving an ovation from the roughly 24,000 in attendance.

Alexander Schulz and Yusuke Matsuo also scored for Urawa, while Anas Alaoui and Nacho Ferri netted for the touring side, who gave playing time to the younger members of their squad.

Frankfurt will also play Gamba Osaka on Saturday as part of their Japan tour, which is taking place while European leagues are in recess for the World Cup.

© Kyodo News