Gotoku Sakai is pictured playing for Japan in their 2-3 win against Belgium.
JORDAN 2:1 JAPAN. (Attiah 45 +1m, Hayel 60m, Kagawa 69m), AMMAN STADIUM.13th. March 2013.
JAPAN.
1. Eiji Kawashima, 5. Gotoku Sakai (3. Yuichi Komano 79 min), 6. Atsuto Uchida, 15. Yasuyuki Konno,
22. Maya Yoshida, 7. Yasuhito Endo, 8. Hiroshi Kiyotake (19.Takashi Inui 86 min), 10. Shinji Kagawa,
17. Makoto Hasebe, 9. Shinji Okazaki, 18. Ryoichi Maeda (11. Mike Havenaar 64 min).
JAPAN 1:1 AUSTRALIA. (Oar 82m, Honda 90m pen). SAITAMA STADIUM 2002, JAPAN. 4th June 2013.
JAPAN.
1. Eiji Kawashima, 5. Gotoku Sakai, 6. Atsuto Uchida (11. Mike Havenaar 85 min), 15. Yasuyuki Konno,
22. Maya Yoshida, 4. Keisuke Honda, 7. Yasuhito Endo, 10. Shinji Kagawa, 17. Makoto Hasebe,
9. Shinji Okazaki (8. Hiroshi Kiyotake 87 min), 18. Ryoichi Maeda (16. Yuzo Kurihara 80 min).
IRAQ 0:1 JAPAN. (Okazaki 89 m) GRAND HAMAD STADIUM, 11th June 2013.
JAPAN.
1. Eiji Kawashima, 2. Masahiko Inoha (20. Hideto Takahashi 90 min), 5. Gotoku Sakai, 15. Yasuyuki Konno,
21. Hiroki Sakai, 7. Yasuhito Endo, 8. Hiroshi Kiyotake (14. Kengo Nakamura 66 min), 10. Shinji Kagawa,
13. Hajime Hosogai, 9. Shinji Okazaki, 11. Mike Havenaar (18. Ryoichi Maeda 70 min).
Sakai was born in New York to a German mother and a Japanese father. The family moved to Japan
when he was two years old. He grew up in Sanjō, Niigata prefecture.