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Hassan II International Cup: |
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Japan's match against France at the Hassan II International Cup, in Morocco, marked the first real success for Phillippe Troussier, and probably saved his job, since rumours about a possible change of coaching staff had been rampant, particularly following weak back-to-back performances against traditional rivals China and Korea.
But on a hot sunny Moroccan afternoon, Japan put together one of their finest performances ever, stunning a nearly full-strength French side and sending the Moroccan crowd into thunderous cheers of approval. For he first half hour, Japan attacked the ball relentlessly, refusing to allow the French to employ their superior ball skills effectively. The harrassing defence also created some occasional counterattacking opportunities, and it must be said that France was taking Japan a bit too lightly, failing to put on the pressure when Japan was on the attack.
In the 34 minute, though, everything changed, as Hiroshi Nanami pried a ball loose from Sylvain Wiltord, at midfield, and fired a long outlet pass to Akinori Nishizawa. The Cerezo Osaka striker immediately lobbed a cross in front of net to his club teammate Hiroaki Morishima, whose diving header put Japan in front, and brought the crowd fully into the game. The stunned Frenchmen could only go through the motions for the remaining ten minutes of the first half, during which Japan rode its surge of momentum to dominate the period even in terms of ball possession and field position
Of course, nobody was surprised to see France emerge from the half time break breathing fire, and determined to reverse the situation (one can only imagine the things that Roger Lemerre said to his players at the break. No doubt, it could not have been broadcast in uncensored form on Canal Plus). But Japan also was pumped up, and despite fierce pressure, they managed to hold their own for another 15 minutes. It took a brilliant series of one-time passes from Pires to Djorkaeff to Zidane in order to finally break down the Japanese defence and put France back on level terms. But just as the French were breathing a sigh of relief, lightling struck again.
In the 70 minute, Japan once again got a breakout following a steal in midfield, and Morishima lobbed a high lead pass to Nishizawa, racing down the right flank. Nishizawa has shown a strong and accurate boot, over the years, and though his consistency may not be that impressive, he has uncorked stunning shots from time to time. This happened to be just such an occasion. with Bixente Lizarazu drigtting towards him to cut ff his path to goal, Nishizawa apparently decided not to take a chance that his poor first touch would spoil the opportunity. Instead, he drew his leg back and met the ball on the full volley with a thunderous crack that sent it flying like a bullet for over 35 meters, straight into the top right corner of the net. It was surely the most impressive goal of his career, and indeed, one of the best strikes in Japan national team history.
This time, though, the French players were immediately back on the attack, and it took them just five minutes of ferocious pressure to get level once more, on a goal by Djorkaeff. But Japan managed to stave off any furthre goals, and keep the match level until the final whistle.
Remarkably, nobody had decided what to do in case of a draw. Apparently none of the match organisers even thought for a moment that Japan might refuse to lie down and play dead for the French. Since the format called for the winner of the match to play Morocco in the final, a draw put the tournament in a quandry, so without playing any extra time, the organizers called for a PK shootout. Unfortunately, Japan could not match the skilled Frenchmen from the PK spot, and went down 2-4 on penalty kicks. Nevertheless, this marked the start of Japan's string of successes under Troussier, whose legacy might have been very different if not for success in this tournament.
National Team
Overseas Players
Japan 2 - 2 France 