Kirin Cup, 2001:
Japan 2 - 0 Paraguay

Date: 1 July, 2001 Location: Sapporo Dome, Japan Japan 2 1 1H 0 1 2H 0 0 Paraguay Yanagisawa (16') Yanagisawa (50') Scoring Koji Nakata Kawaguchi Cautions Caniza Sent Off Quintana Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Naoki Matsuda, Ryuzo Morioka, Koji Nakata, Yasuhiko Hato, Junichi Inamoto, Kazuyuki Toda (Teruyoshi Ito 87'), Shinji Ono (Toshihiro Hattori 70'), Hiroaki Morishima (Chikara Fujimoto 89'), Atsushi Yanagisawa (Yoshiteru Yamashita 92'), Takayuki Suzuki (Masashi Nakayama 78') Jose Luis Chilavert, Nestor Isasi (Panfilo Escobar 73'), Juan Daniel Caceres, Nelson Zelaya, Denis Caniza, Daniel Sanabria (Alfredo Amarilla 60'), Julio Cesar Enciso, Gustavo Morinigo (Victor Quintana 45'), Virgilio Ferreira, Diego Gavilan (Aristides Masi 84'), Miguel Caceres (Nelson Cuevas 55').

The match between Japan and Paraguay served as the grand opening for the Sapporo Dome, a magnificent stadium that drew rave reviews from journalists as well from the visiting team. The dome was filled to its 42,000 capacity as Japan kicked off its first match of the Kirin Cup. Paraguay, having won its opener against Yugoslavia, could have clinched the prize money with a victory in Sapporo, and even a draw would have made them the clear favourites to collect the cup. However, if Paraguay had any illusions that this would be an easy match, they were quickly disabused of the notion.

Paraguay came out with strong pressure up front, but Japan's defence seemed to have no difficulty deflecting the South American team's attempts to drive into the box. On the other end, Japan's short, crisp passing was smooth and sleek, creating a number of early opportunities. Just 20 minutes into the match, as Japan turned away a Paraguay charge and began to break out of their end, defender Koji Nakata sent a ball to Shinji Ono wide open on the left wing. As Ono approached midfield, he unleashed a long, feather-touch lob that arched through the still air of the dome to land softly just beyond the penalty area. Antlers forward Atsushi Yanagisawa outraced his defender and collected the ball in full stride, settled it with one touch and, while holding his defender on his back, drilled a screeching line drive past an outrushing Chilavert and into the far side of the net.

The early strike gave Japan all the confidence they needed to put a lock on Paraguay's offensive forays. The back three held Paraguay's attempts at a quich thrust at bay, while intense pressure in the midfield from Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono, Kazuyuki Toda and Yasuhiro Hato prevented them from developing any sort of rhythm. On the other side of the field, though, Japan became a bit more cautious in attack and were held at bay for the remainder of the first half Although Paraguay have a reputation for a strong defence, it was something of a surprise to see how physical they were on defence. Fortunately for Paraguay, the Thai referee, Mr. Panya Hanlumyaung was not prone to using his whistle, and the rough stuff was allowed to pass, at least for the time being. The two teams went in at half time with the score still 1-0.

But just four minutes after the break, Japan delivered the coup de grace. After a dazzling bit of ball movement at midfield, Shinji Ono collected a pass about ten meters outside the box on the right side of the field. Once again, he made eye contact with Yanagisawa and sent him sprinting free with a diagonal pass that cut through the defence as cleanly as a straight razor through silk. Yanagisaa drilled the ball into the low corner to put Japan up 2-0.

Paraguay tried to fight back, but their bruising tackles and careening runs eventually tried the patience of the referee. After one sequence in which two separate Japanese players were felled by elbows, he had a word with Chilavert, who was wearing the captain's armband, to make it clear that enough was enough. Unfortunately for Paraguay, at least one of their players apparently didnt get the message. In the 80th minute, Hiroaki Morishima made a strong challenge on one Paraguayan player at midfield, and as the ball rolled away away, Victor Quintana came in with a deliberate, and completely unnecessary shoulder into Morishima's chest, sending him to the ground. This was more than Mr. Hanlumyaung could allow to pass, particularly in a heavily partisan stadium. The red card came out and Paraguay was reduced to ten men. The remaining 10 minutes or so of the match were used by both teams to give their benchwarmers a brief view of the action. Japan remained in clear control of the tempo, and though they seemed content not to push for a third tally, there was never any question of a consolation goal for Paraguay.

With their win, Japan are now in the driver's seat. Even a 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia would give Japan the cup on goal difference, and given Yugoslavia's performance against Paraguay last Thursday, they will be hard pressed to even manage a draw. On the other hand, with the final result more or less settled, this is an ideal opportunity for Troussier to give some of the second-string players a chance to show what they can do. From that standpoint, alone, it will be very interesting to see what happens in the final match, on Wednesday night.

Below is the full roster for the Kirin Cup: