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National Team Match: |
 Seigo Narazaki, Makoto Tanaka, Takayuki Chano, Alessandro Santos (Atsuhiro Miura), Junichi Inamoto (Yasuhito Endo), Takashi Fukunishi, Akira Kaji, Toshiya Fujita, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Takayuki Suzuki (Keiji Tamada ), Naohiro Takahara (Yoshito Okubo)
 Kahn, Behrens, Schultz, Overmeyer, Mertezacjer, Ballack, Ernst, Schneider, Klose, Asamoach, Podolsky
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When looking at the makeshift lineup that Japan had to field in this contest, against a virtually full-strength Germany, one does not experience any sense of surprise or dissonance when comparing the two lineups and the box score shown above. The unfortunate thing is, it did not have to be that way. It would be comforting if we could simply say that the defensively challenged back four of Kaji, Chano, Tanaka and Santos were not able to withstand the offensive skills of quality players like Mioslav Klose and Mikhael Ballack. There would be no shame in admitting this fact, and no real disappointment, knowing that Japan has the personnel to put up a far better defensive effort when it has the necessary personnel available.
But sadly, that is not what happened. On the contrary, the defence played well over their heads, with Chano and Tanaka in particular turning in perhaps their best performances ever in a Japan NT uniform. Junichi Inamoto looked well below form in his first competitive match since June, but his good positioning and match savvy, combined with a surprisingly tough performance from the usually spineless Takashi Fukunishi, took pressure off the back line and generally kept Germany at bay. Best of all, Toshiya Fujita seemed to discover some of his lost youth in atttacking midfield, while Mitsuo Ogasawara had the most impressive outing in close to four years, and was certainly the standout player for Japan. Naohiro Takahara looked very useful up front, even if he was dwarfed by the German defenders, and even Takayuki Suzuki managed to dispense with his usual flopping and diving to do some impressive work in the high post. At half time, with the score 0-0, it was clear that Germany were the superior team, but Japan had created enough danger of their own on the counterattack to let the Germans know that unless they kept their focus, they might easily be upset.
Then it all fell apart.
Nine minutes into the second half, Germany won a cheap free kick on the left side, about 30 meters out. The kick was a sinking line drive, a bit off target, and Seigo Narazaki reacted in plenty of time. The ball might have gone wide even without Narazaki's intercession but the most he needed to do was to tip it around the post. Instead, Narazaki tried to catch the ball, perhaps hoping to avoid a corner kick, and failed miserably. He spilled the ball directly at the feet of Klose, who tapped it home with pleasure and gave Germany the lead. You could see the heads of all the Japanese players drop.
Japan did put on a good bit of pressure over the next twenty minutes, and had two or three good chances to equalise. The second goal was the sort that you simply are not going to avoid, over 90 minutes, against a team like Germany -- a lovely, flowing counterattack finished off by a perfect strike from Ballack, into the top right corner. If this had been the first, and not the second goal, Japan might have kept their composure and fought back for the remainder of the contest, seeking a chance to equalise.
But with a two-goal deficit, the tiring starters simply lost their enthusiasm and determination. The remaining 25 minutes was rather dull. Even so, a 2-0 loss with one goal clearly a soft one, conceded by a keeper's error, is no great cause for disappointment.
But in the last minute of extra time, young Yoshito Okubo managed to squander even that sense of accomplishment. Trying to play the hero, rather than just pas the ball off to his teammates, Okubo tried to outdribble a German player all by himself, and not surprisingly, was stripped of the ball. SInce all of the other Japanese players were pushed forward looking for a late goal, Germany suddenly had a four-on-two break, and though a nice reaction by Narazaki stalled the rush for a moment, eventually the Germans pulled the ball back to Klose for the finish.
All in all, this match will probably be seen as a failure when people look back and see only the final score line. But in reality, it was a reasonably good performance by the second string, several of whom (Ogasawara, Chano, Takahara) had a chance to demonstrate that they deserve a spot in the NT lineup. If only the team had been able to avoid two foolish blunders, they would have had a close, 1-0 result on a beautiful play by the Germans that no team in the world could have prevented.
Sadly, "what might have been" never gets included in the final score sheet.
National Team
Overseas Players
