International Friendly Match:
Japan 0 - 2 Senegal

Date: 4 Oct, 2001 Location: Lens, France Japan 0 0 1H 0 0 2H 2 2 Senegal Scoring Diouf (77') Thiaw (90') Toda Morioka Cautions Seigo Narazaki, Ryuzo Morioka, Yasuhiko Hato, Naoki Matsuda, Koji Nakata (Toshihiro Hattori 45'), Daisuke Oku (Nozumi Hiroyama 75'), Chikara Fujimoto (Teruyoshi Ito 45'), Kazuyuki Toda, Junichi Inamoto (Takashi Fukunishi 71'), Takayuki Suzuki, Naohiro Takahara (Atsushi Yanagisawa 45'). Tony Sylva, Pape Malick Diop, Lamine Diatta, Omar Daf, Alassane Ndour, Makhtar Ndiaye (Moussa Ndiaye 59'), El-Hadji Sarr, Salif Diao, Henry Camara (Pape Bouna Thiaw 64'), Khalilou Fadiga, El-Hadji Diouf

Viewed in light of the performance against Nigeria, a few days later, it is clear that Japan were badly jet-lagged for their match against Senegal. Immediately following this match, that might have sounded like a weak excuse, but the difference in pace, ball pursuit and crispness was so apparent (even in the midst of a downpour) that it takes some of the sting from the Senegal defeat. Japan came out with a very odd lineup, partly a result of injuries in the midfield, but also due to some very ill-considered "experiments" by Monsieur Troussier. Akinori Nishizawa started up front alongside Takayuki Suzuki, and looked so sluggish that you could be excused for wondering which of the two had just flown in from Japan, and which hopped over from England. Behind the two forwards, Troussier started the untested Chikara Fujimoto, Daisuke Oku and Junichi Inamoto in a rare center-midfield position. Yasuhiro Hato and Takashi Fukunishi played on the wings. Although Japan went with its usual back line of Morioka, Matsuda and Nakata, Ryota Tsuzuki was in the net.

Japan came out with a burst of energy in the first five minutes, including a shot from Inamoto that came back off the bar. However, that would be one of the team's last dangerous chances in this match. After the first 10 minutes, Senegal had established almost complete control, as the inexperienced Japanese midfield repeatedly handed the ball to their opponents. Inamoto was the one standout, and the back line did a fairly good job of protecting Tsuzuki from really dangerous shots, but all the same, Japan were fortunate to go in at the half with the score 0-0.

In the second half, Troussier revised a few of his blunders, pulling Fujimoto for Teruyoshi Ito and putting Yanagisawa in the front line in place of Nishizawa. Once again, Japan put on a good show for about five or ten minutes, and nearly took the lead on a long shot by Ito which the keeper blocked into the path of Yanagisawa. However, the Antlers forward couldnt quite handle the rebound, and the match remained scoreless. Despite being outplayed for much of the match, Senegal and Japan were still level halfway through the second stanza, but Japan's midfield remained very sluggish, even after the addition of Nozomi Hiroyama on the right wing. It was only a matter of time before their luck ran out. In the 77 minute, Papa Sarr was brought down just outside the box in a clash with Matsuda, and El Hadji Diouff stroked the ball into the top right corner beyond the dive of Tsuzuki.

Although Japan finally discovered some life in the final ten minutes, and came close on one or two shots in the dying moments, but Pape Thiaw closed out the scoring three minutes into injury time, as a counterattack sent him free against the keeper and he slid the ball underneath Tsuzuki for the closing goal.

Below is the full roster for the match against Senegal: