Confederations Cup:
Japan 2 - 0 Cameroon

Date: 2 June, 2001 Location: Niigata "Big Swan" Stadium Japan 1 1H 0 1 2H 0 Cameroon Suzuki (8') Suzuki (65') Scoring Toda Morioka Cautions Njanka Seigo Narazaki, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Naoki Matsuda, Ryuzo Morioka, Koji Nakata, Tomokazu Myojin, Junichi Inamoto, Kazuyuki Toda, Shinji Ono (Toshihiro Hattori 85'), Hidetoshi Nakata (Hiroaki Morishima 61'), Akinori Nishizawa (Masashi Nakayama 73'), Takayuki Suzuki Boukar Alioum, Pierre Wome (Bill Tchato 76'), Rigobert Song, Raymond Kalla, Pierre Njanka, Nicolas Alnoudji, Salomon Olembe (Joseph Desire Job 55'), Geremi Njitap ( Joel Epalle 55'), Marc-Vivien Foe, Samuel Eto'o, Patrick Mboma

After Cameroon's dominant performance against Brazil on Thursday, Phillippe Troussier made it clear that Japan was going to have to dig down deep and find something new in order to make a contest against the Indomitable Lions. Japan did dig down deep to come up with something Camerooon was not expecting. Dig down deep, they did, and what they found was a bleach-haired thug with a bad attitude and a burning desire for the spotlight that has always been denied him.

Takayuki Suzuki was a key member of the Kashima Antlers championship squad last year, but he perfected his trade -- and his attitude -- in the junior leagues of Rio de Janeiro, playing two years for Rio FC and CFZ do Rio before his 21st birthday. Suzuki was making his very first start for the Japanese national team at striker, and from the opening tap, he did what he does best -- create mayhem.

Less than a minute into the match, Shinji Ono sent a long ball down the right flank towards Suzuki, and defender Rigobert Song steamed towards him, displaying a clear intent to muscle him off the ball. It was the last time he would entertain such a foolish notion. Suzuki lowered his shoulder and put Song on the seat of his pants as if to say "you're two decades too late to be trying that move, old man". Two minutes later, Suzuki again brushed off a challenge from Song, and this time kept the ball in play on the left sideline. Turning towards goal, Suzuki spotted Akinori Nishizawa steaming into the box, and fired a bullet pass into the goal mouth. Nishizawa beat both his defender and the keeper to the ball, but unfortunately, his shot spun just inches over the bar.

The agressive stance adopted by Japan was probably no accident. Suzuki may be the most renowned bruiser on the team, but Troussier's lineup on this evening was stocked with several players who do not shy from a tussle, and with Suzuki setting the example, Japan began to press Cameroon with an intensity that clearly put the Lions on the back foot. Twin volantes Kazuyuki Toda and Junichi Inamoto pressed forward, attacking the ball even before it reached midfield, while Suzuki and Nishizawa chased all over the pitch. The pressure that Japan applied took all of the silky smoothness out of the Cameroon attack, and Japan was clearly in control of the opening minutes. The only questions was whether they could do anything with the initiative before Cameroon settled down and took it back.

The capacity crowd at "Big Swan" (as the brand-new Niigata Stadium is colloquially called) did not have to wait long to find out. Just eight minutes into the match, Koji Nakata carried a ball out of the back line towards midfield, and looking up, noticed a vast expanse of uninhabited savanna in front of Suzuki. Leaning back, he launched a 60-meter moon shot that Suzuki met at the right top corner of the penalty area. Chesting the ball down, Suzuki blasted a low shot before the keeper could get off his line, and it found its way just inside the post to put Japan up 1-0.

Cameroon were clearly stunned, and they nearly let down their guard to concede a second goal, but a solid header by Akinori Nishizawa 15 minutes into the match was gathered by Alioum to prevent the start of a rout.

As the first half wore on, Cameroon eventually began to remember why they bear the name "The Indomitable Lions". As play moved past the 20 minute mark, they began to settle down a bit, and play their smooth, delicate passing game with its intricate, ballet-like post plays and one-touch feeds. Yet even though Cameroon started to dominate posession, the Japanese defence was well-prepared for the challenge. However many passes their opponents strung together, Japan always managed to keep one defender on the ball, and refused to concede an open shot. More importantly, the pressure up front that was applied constantly by Suzuki and Nishizawa, supported by surgically sharp passing from Ono and Hide Nakata, kept Cameroon honest, forcing them to hold their defenders in reserve, away from a position where they might have supported the attack.

As the first half wore on, Cameroon began to get their chances, but some excellent defending by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi kept Cameroon on ice. One particularly nice save, on a point-blank shot by Patrick Mboma, inspired Japan to a late burst of energy, and in the final five minutes of the half they recaptured their early initiative, pushing Cameroon back on the defensive.

In the second half, both teams came out much the better for their break. Cameroon started to play a game of speedy touches and streaking overlaps that was intended to stretch the Japanese defence yet avoid the dangerous Japanese counterattacks that had been so damaging in the first half .For its part, Japan came out determined to keep one foot, forehead, shoulder or shin in front of the ball at all times. Though Cameroon has the benefit of at least 75% posession for the first 15 minutes of the half, their shots were few and far between. Though the crowd began to get a bit edgy, the players were clearly aware that the longer they held the lead, the more desperate their opponents would become. Time was on the side of the home team.

In the 60 minute, Troussier made an inspired substitution, pulling Hidetoshi Nakata. Though Nakata had demonstrated his ball skills on several occasions during the first half, he was the only player on Japan's side of the field who was not playing with reckless abandon. In his place, Troussier inserted Hiroaki Morishima, who is the very definition of reckless abandon. It didnt take long for the move to pay off. In the 63 minute, Morishima was disposessed deep in the Cameroon end, but instead of giving up on the ball, he continued to pursue defender Pierre Njanka deep into the back line. Njanka turned away from Morishima, and directly into the path of Nishizawa. Though Nishizawa was pulled to the ground in the subsequent struggle, he managed to push the ball into the corner for Morishima to collect. Morishima lined up centered the ball hoping for the best . . .

Suzuki was camped out in front of the net, just waiting for such an opportunity. though the ball was a bit behind him, Suzuki swiveled his body and headed the ball high and straight at the keeper, who was rushing out of the net. Alioum was unable to check his momentum, and the ball went straight between his hands, bouncing off his shoulder and into the net. Japan were up by two goals, and Cameroon were on the ropes.

Cameroon deserves credit for refusing to wilt after the second goal, but despite their frenetic attacks, Japan was just a bit more aggressive to the ball, and as time began to tick away, the Lions' attacks grew more and more desperate. In the 70 minute, Suzuki very nearly completed his hat trick, as a long pass from Shinji Ono sent him off on a dash towards the goal. However, as a defender closed in, he opted to pull the ball back instead of firing a quick shot, and the defender managed to tip the ball over the end line. Nevertheless, that play seemed to break Cameroon's spirit. Mboma and Eto'o had been running at a frenetic pace since midway through the first half, and by the 75 minute, they began to wilt. Japan brought in Gon Nakayama for Nishizawa, to add a fresh pair of legs, and a few minutes later, pulled Ono for the rock-solid defender Toshihiro Hattori. A few desperate but futile Cameroon attacks later, the whistle sounded and Japan seized sole posession of first place in its group and booked a position in the Semifinal.

Below is the full roster for the Confederations Cup: