National Team Match:
Japan 0 - 1 Colombia

Date: 8 June, 2003 Location: St. Etienne Stadium, France Japan 0 1H 0 0 2H 1 France Scoring Hernandez (67') Cautions Seigo Narazaki, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Keisuke Tsuboi, Nobuhisa Yamada, Alessandro Santos, Koji Nakata, Yasuhito Endo (Daisuke Oku 85), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Daisuke Matsui 80), Hidetoshi Nakata, Naohiro Takahara, Yoshito Okubo (Yuichiro Nagai 62) TBA

After starting their run at the Confederations' Cup with great promise, Japan let itself down with a rather uninspired performance in their final pool match, which was won by Colombia on one of the few clear-cut scoring chances of the entire match. Japan may have been a bit fatigued playing their third match in five days, and in the search for potential scapegoats (of which there are many) one would have to be the coach, who ignored his own instincts to replace the defensive line for the Colombia match and bowed to media pressure to keep the same four members who had started against New Zealand and France. Although many of the players were looking a bit sluggish, the poor ball pursuit by the back line was the most serious problem the team faced. Japan could have progressed even if they were unable to score, but they couldnt count on doing so it they conceded a goal. Four sets of fresh legs -- all of them known to be solid defenders -- would have made a big difference.

Even so, Japan played a reasonably competitive match over 85 of the 90 minutes. They were pressed back a bit for the opening few minutes of the match, when Colombia came out with a ferocious rush, but then were able to hold their own for most of the remaining time. Though they did not manage to create more than a few half-chances over the course of the match, they matched Colombia step for step throughout. The one exception was a hideous defensive lapse by Yasuhiro Endo and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto which gifted Colombia with an easy goal, and sealed Japan's fate.

In the 65 minute, Zico apparently decided that the front line was too lethargic, and decided to bring in a fresh pair of legs. Unfortunately, he decided to let Yuichiro Nagai replace Yoshito Okubo, rather than Naohiro Takahara. This might have been the textbook thing to do: Neither player had been really sharp, but Takahara is more experienced and a bigger target for high balls, and he had just given Japan its best chance of the match with a header off the post in the 50 minute. In reality, though, this substitution deprived the Japanese attack of any energy whatsoever. By an unfortunate coincidence, Miyamoto took this very opportunity to play a horrendous ball for Yasuhiro Endo, which put him in a 50-50 situation with a Colombian striker, just 30 meters out from goal and with no support. As the two players came together, pinning the ball between them momentarily, Endo probably should have just accepted the blunder and pushed his opponent down, to bring play to a stop. However, he tried to make a spectacular play by backheeling the ball out of the pack, towards Miyamoto. This simply compounded the error, because Miyamoto was already moving in the opposite direction, and the backheel went straight to Arnulfo Valentierra, who passed to Hernandez for an incredibly easy finish.

Though there was still more than 20 minutes left, Japan couldnt generate any momentum to speak of. Nakata and Takahara were both worn out, and Mitsuo Ogasawara never really made an impression as a substiture for Shunsuke Nakamura. The back line had been on its last legs even before the Colombia goal. Though Zico brought in Daisuke Matsui and Daisuke Oku to try to inject energy, the team looked demoralized, and Colombia had little difficulty killing time for the final 20 minutes. The final result will have to be seen as a major disappointment. Though Japan may have shown signs of improvement at this tournament, and a few glimpses that they are beginning to figure out what Zico expects of them, the glaring errors that cost them a draw against both France and Colombia show that there is still a long way to go. . . .

Below is the full roster for the match against Colombia: