|
National Team Match: |
|  |
In its final preperatory match before the start of the World Cup qualification round, Japan cruised to what in retrospect seems like a relatively easy win over Syria. However, the final score line and the ease with which Japan cruised home in the final 45 minutes belies the rather shaky nature of the team's performance in the first half. The big "tag line" for this match -- repeated ad nauseum by the announcers -- was the opportunity for domestic players to show that they deserve a starting spot, prior to the return of Japan's overseas contingent. On the basis of actual performance, however, we have to say that we are extremely relieved to know that Junichi Inamoto will be coming back to take a spot in defensive midfield, against North Korea. Neither of the two players who filled the deep midfield roles in this match provided any indication that they are up to the task of playing a competitive international.
Well, perhaps that is a bit of an overstatement. Yasuhito Endo looked like he had just finished running a half-marathon, immediately before the opening kickoff. Not only was he beaten to the ball repeatedly by the Syrian players, but his passes were ragged and, though he did provide one cross from the right wing that produced a goal, the vast majority of his passes were in the direction of his own goal. Takashi Fukinishi, on the other hand, made a very strong contribution; in fact, some people might argue that he was the most valuable player . . . . for Syria. Fukunishi broke up at least five dangerous counterattacks by handing the ball directly to a Syrian player, and he contributed significantly to two of the three most dangerous chances that the Syrians had in this match, after getting caught in possession deep in his own end. To top it off, he was presented with a point-blank scoring opportunity late in the first half, when Mitsuo Ogasawara placed a feather-touch cross directly onto his forehead, completely unmarked, about two meters out from the dead center of the goal mouth. Somehow he managed to nod the ball directly into the keepers chest
Fortunately, most of the other players hade reasonably good outings. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi barely touched the ball, so it is hard to rate his performance, but he did handle the two shots on goal that Syria managed without much difficulty. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto still seemed to be a bit below 100%, following a hamstring injury, but he had a steady if unremarkable performance on defence, and got forward on a set play late in the match to score a goal. All of the offensive players showed an occasional tendency to overplay balls during the first 45 minutes, perhaps allowing the excitement of the rout over Kazakhstan to go to their heads. However, it is always better to see too much effort than too little.
Finally, we have to give credit to the Syrians for playing a very agressive and highly positive match. Though they did resort to a lot of professional fouling to forestall Japanese counterattacks (and this came back to haunt them in the second half), on the whole they showed great spirit and energy while playing aggressive attacking football. Unfortunately, their ball skills could not quite match their work rate. But their play was ferocious enough to keep Japan at bay -- and even on the defensive -- for about 40 minutes. Syria were the quickest to almost every loose ball, particularly those that landed in Japan's midfield, and they took advantage of the lackadaisical play of Endo and Fukunishi to produce some half-chances on offence, as well.
But as time ran down in the first half, Japan upped the pressure slightly, looking for a goal to take into the locker room at the break. In the 43 minute, Diab Ali took down Keiji Tamada with a professional foul, to halt a dangerous countreattack, and in addition to earning a yellow card, he conceded a kick about ten meters outside the penalty on the left side. Alex Santos sent his kick in a bit too low, and it was headed clear by a defender, but the ball bounded right back to him, just above the top left corner of the box. Santos set up a second time, and this time his kick was on the mark, finding Takayuki Suzuki at the far post. Suzuki headed back across the face of goal and the ball dropped softly into the open net.
In the second half, midfield playmaker Mitsuo Ogasawara seemed to grow tired of seeing his midfield teammates waste time, with their incessant backard passes, and began to hold the ball a bit more, looking to create combinations with the two wings and the strikers. Though Ogasawara is a consummate passer, dribbling is not really his forte. Nevertheless, as he and the two wings began to work the ball forward on their own, Syria's defenders started to try the referree's patience with their professional fouling. In the space of five minutes, defensive midfielder Juberi committed two very clumsy and obviously deliberate take-downs, and earned an early ticket to the locker room. Just moments later, Japan had another free kick opportunity about ten meters outside the penalty area, and the three defenders all moved forward for the set play. As was the case on the first goal, the ball was cleared by the Syrian defence but collected by Japan just oustide the box -- this time by Yasuhito Endo. With plenty of time to line up his cross, Endo played a soft flaoter right to the penalty spot. As a crowd of players leapt for the ball, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto was the first to get a head on it, sending a glancing header into the low left corner.
At this point, Zico brought on Koji Nakata for Endo, and the change in pace was immediate and dramatic. Of course, one must also consider that Syria were now a man short, but it is hard to avoid the impression that the midfield pressure improved dramatically the moment Nakata set foot on the pitch. There followed a sequence of half-chances that seemed to be on the verge of shattering the Syrian defence, but for a slightly errant pass or a slightly misplayed trap. The entry of Masashi Motoyama, with about ten minutes remaining, increased the presure even more, and suddenly Syria were hanging on for dear life. One could tell that Japan was just one pass from delivering the coup de grace. That pass came on the stroke of full time, as Alex Santos ran the overlap on the left wing anc crossed the ball for Takayuki Suzuki right at the top of the penalty arc. Suzuki turned on the speed as he headed for the box, but as the the ball arrived, he ran right past it, taking two defenders along with him. Slipping in behind Suzuki's feint, Ogasawara had a wide open lane through the middle of the box. He settled the ball with his right foot, then immediately curled it into the right corner, with his left.
One can only speculate on what might have happened if Nakata and Motoyama had entered the match earlier, because the final few minutes were one mad rush towards the Syrian goal. Ninety seconds after Ogasawara's goal, the midfield playmaker muscled an opponent off the ball and triggered yet another break. His pass sent Keiji Tamada free into the box, and when the defence collapsed on him, Tamada pulled the ball back to a wide-open Motoyama. But Motoyama's shot came back off the left post and was cleared over the touch line as the final whistle sounded. All in all, Japan will come away feeling that this was a comfortable win, but the shaky performance in the first 40 minutes was certainly not a source of optimism. For those fans who came away from this match with slightly gnawed fingernails, perhaps the greatest source of optimism is the knowledge that Junichi Inamoto will be returning home, later this week, and that at least one of the two weak links in deep midfield (prefereably both, if Zico saw enough of Koji Nakata to give him the nod) will be on the bench on February 9, when North Korea comes to town.
National Team
Overseas Players
Japan 3 - 0 Syria 