National Team Match:
Japan 1 - 4 Argentina

Date: 8 June, 2003 Location: Nagai Stadium, Osaka Japan 0 1H 2 1 2H 2 Argentina Yutaka Akita (68') Scoring Saviola Saviola Romeo Delgado -- Cautions -- Seigo Narazaki, Yutaka Akita, Ryuzo Morioka, Akira Narahashi, Toshihiro Hattori, Koji Nakata (Takashi Fukunishi 45), Junichi Inamoto, Alessandro Santos (Yasuhito Endo 45), Hidetoshi Nakata, Takayuki Suzuki (Yuichiro Nagai 71) Masashi Nakayama (Yoshito Okubo 45) ---

In the second match of Zico's reign, Japan were thrashed by a full strength and well organised Argentine team. Nine months later, in a rematch, Argentina administered an even more thorough beating which left few doubts about the weaknesses of Japan's aging defense. The result had some positive implications. This loss forced Zico to toss aside some of the older players who had been at the core of the team in the Troussier and Okada eras, and turn over the reins to players who would lead Japan to victory in the Asian Cup, two years later.

However, Zico seems to have forgotten this lesson over the subsequent two or three years. As the World Cup approached, signs of similar aging and weakness were evident in every contest, but since no opponnent really crushed Japan by the sort of score line that Argentina had, in 2002 and 03, both Zico, the JFA and the press managed to convince themselves that it was not necessary to make similar adjustmets. If only a similar disaster had befallen the team some time in early 2005, perhaps Zico would not have stuck with players who were past their prime, and thus ensured disaster at the 2006 World Cup.