National Team Match:

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Japan 1 - 1 N.Korea

Date: February 17 2008 Location: Chongqing, China Japan 1 0 1H 1 1 2H 0 1 North Korea Ryoichi Maeda (69') Scoring Chong Tese (06') Akira Kaji Cautions Park Nam-Chol Eiji Kawashima, Atsuto Uchida (Yuichi Komano 77), Yuji Nakazawa, Hiroki Mizumoto, Keita Suzuki, Yasuhito Endo, Naotake Hanyu Satoru Yamagishi (Michihiro Yasuda 64), Ryuji Bando (Ryoichi Maeda 64), Yuzo Tashiro TBA

Japan is playing a match against North Korea, in China, with a team of South Korean referees in charge. Can anyone out there even CONCEIVE of a worse time to bench Yuji Komano, give two players (Yuzo Tashiro and Eiji Kawashima) their first start ever in a national team uniform, and hand the responsibility for creating offence to Naotake Hanyu and Satoru Yamagishi, two of the most gutless pussies ever to wear the Samurai Blue uniform? It is hard to say what was going through the mind of coach Okada when he filled out his lineup card on Sunday evening. And to be honest, we would rather not know.

The fact of the matter is, despite the fact that the two players who were supposed to be responsible for the offensive build-up were nearly invisible for 90 minutes, Japan actually dominated this contest for most of the 90 minutes. North Korea put on a good early burst of pressure which set up a beautiful strike from the edge of the box by Kawasaki Frontale's Chong Tese. But apart from that and a few furious counterattacks on the rare occasions that North Korea managed to win possession, Japan had control of possession for almost the entire match.

But how can you score goals when two sadly incompetent and utterly wimpy midfielders are responsible for creating the offence, and a National Team debutante is your "go to" man up front?

The simple answer is -- bring in substitutes and correct the mistakes you made with your opening lineup. Fortunately, coach Okada did manage to salvage something from the contest, by bringing in Gamba left wing Michihiro Yasuda and Jubilo striker Ryoichi Maeda, 20 minutes into the second half. The two needed less than five minutes to produce the equaliser. Yasuda zipped down the sideline and fired in a cross that the keeper swatted right onto the forehead of Maeda. Not bad, but it certainly leaves one scratching one's head and trying to figure out what was going on in coach Okada's mind when he picked the starting lineup. If there was some suggestion -- any hint or indication whatsoever -- that this was all a staged act, and that Okada simply wands to have something irrefutable to point to when he drops Yamagishi and Hanyu from the team once and for all.

Unfortunately, that really doesnt seem to be the case. It is true that coach Okada was put in a difficult position by the combined impact of club pressures and injuries. The team he brought with him to China is a pale imitation of the squad that beat Bosnia and crushed Thailand. Nevertheless, it was always clear that Japan would struggle to match North Korea in intensity, even with a very strong lineup. Fielding players like Hanyu and Yamagishi in such circumstances was sheer folly. Not that these were the only two players who failed to distinguish themselves. Yasuhito Endo was even more sluggish than usual, and the usually solid Keita Suzuki had one of his poorest outings in recent memory. What was most annoying about this contest was that when he had the opportunity to correct his earlier mistakes, Okada opted to substitute out Ryuji Bando and Atsuto Uchida -- the two players who looked MOST effective in the first half. As soon as Uchida went off, the danger that Japan had been creating on the right flank evaporated. And we cannot avoid the impression that Bando would have been a more useful player to have on the pitch as the match wound down than Hanyu -- or for that matter, just about any of the other players who started the match.

With time running down and the score still 1-1, Japan's defenders left fans aghast in disbelief, as they passed the ball around in their own end, making hardly any attempt to force the pace or go for the victory. That seemed to sum up this contest, and indeed, this entire tournament. The JFA clearly doesnt care enough to bring a top-level squad, the team doesnt care enough to push for the winning goal in the final minutes of play, and the players dont even care enough to at least look a bit discouraged during the post-match interviews.

Meanwhile, the only things that the fans get out of this ridiculous spectacle that they call the "East Asian Championships" are a chance to listen to a bunch of boorish Chinese peasants drown out the Japanese national anthem with boos and catcalls, a few good video clips of South Korean referees fixing a result for their "North Korean brothers", and an opportunity to vent some pent-up anger after it is all over. Whats the point?

This isnt the first time that the Rising Sun News has made this point, but it doesnt hurt to repeat it: Japan needs to extract itself from this semi-annual bit of folly, and use the resources to set up competitions against opponents who would actually WELCOME the matches, and take part in them as good sportsmen. Australia and the ASEAN countries immediately suggest themselves as likely candidates, as do countries like the US, Canada and Mexico. So long as Korea and China insist on making any sporting event that involves Japan into a bit of political theatre, and an opportunity to grind 65- or 70-year-old axes, Japan would be wise to simply and politely say "no thank you", and decline to take part. Any time that football fans have to sit huddled in groups in one small, fenced-off part of the stadium, watching warily for projectiles aimed at them, and then listen to the host crowd boo their national anthem, its a good bet that the tournament isnt having any positive impact for ANYONE involved.