Japan lost its final third round World Cup Qualifier to Uzbekistan on Wednesday. Alexandr Shadrin scored the only goal in the 53rd minute. It’s a disappointing result, but not one to fret too much over.
Both teams had secured qualification so it could’ve played out as a friendly, but Japan fielded its strongest lineup. Shinji Kagawa was a surprise inclusion, after initially being expected to miss out because of injury. Only Keisuke Honda was missing.
In fact, Uzbekistan was the more injury-troubled team, with 5 usual starters missing out, including captain and two-time Asian Footballer of the Year Server Djeparov and Anzhi midfielder Odil Ahmedov.
Japan dominated the first half, keeping all of possession and attacking constantly. In the 16th minute, Kagawa dribbled through the Uzbek midfield and passed to Mike Havenaar. He played a decent pass into the box aimed for Shinji Okazaki, but it was cut out by Islom Inomov, almost into his own net.
Kagawa continued to find open spaces, and in the 22nd he played a pass into Okazaki, who took out an Uzbek defender with an expert cutback, before smashing a shot off the top left corner of the goal.
Okazaki then put the ball into the net in the 36th minute, but it was rightly called off because of a foul by Mike. The sides entered the half at 0-0, with Japan undoubtedly frustrated that they hadn’t scored.
Uzbekistan scored the lone goal in the 53rd on a counter-attack. Japan seemed to have numbers back, but a perfect cross from Jasur Hasanov put it on a plate for Bahodir Nasimov. His diving header was right at Kawashima, but Alexandr Shadrin was there to slam home the rebound for his first senior team goal.
As the half wore on, Japan looked increasingly fatigued, with Kagawa and Nagatomo visibly laboring. They still attacked persistently and kept possession but were unable to create any clear chances. The best opportunity came in the 72nd, when a last ditch tackle prevented Kagawa from leveling the score after being played through by Takashi Inui.
Uzbekistan should’ve made it 2-0 in the second minute of added time when Hasanov was one-on-one with Kawashima. However his shot was tame and right at the keeper.
After the final whistle, players from both sides collapsed in exhaustion and the Uzbek players celebrated in joy. It was a deserved win for them, who defended well and looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
The message-boarders seem to agree that the players didn’t take the match seriously. I’m not convinced that was the case, and think it had more to do with it just being an off day and a lot of key players being fatigued. Most of the Europe-based players had matches over the weekend and probably felt the effects of jet lag.
Captain Makoto Hasebe and Atsuto Uchida didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory. Both looked tired and out of form, probably because neither are consistently getting into the first teams at their club sides. Hasebe looked especially tired and slow. Uchida was just uninvolved, with most of Japan’s attack coming from the left. Jungo Fujimoto also did not play his best, and was far less influential than he was on Friday against Iceland.
Takashi Inui played well, but he tended to drift inside instead of sticking to the wings. Nonetheless, he was able to play some clever passes and kept Japan attacking throughout.
We did not get the highly anticipated debut of Ryo Miyaichi, which was disappointing. Many think that Ryo would have brought that little extra to break down the valiant Uzbek defense. He might well have done that, but the creative players already on the field were doing a good enough job, and he will definitely get his chance soon. Also, Zaccheroni had made two attacking substitutions by the 66th, and was forced to make a third one because of injury to Nagatomo. He put on Yuichi Komano in like-for-like switch. Another attacking substitution might have left the vulnerable in the back, but I think Zaccheroni just wanted to see what the players on the pitch could do.
All in all, it was a disappointing loss to an under strength Uzbekistan side, but not one to worry that much about. Japan had already qualified, and many of the players were fatigued. Maybe we’ll be grouped with them again in the next round and get some revenge.
Some points: This match was good as a tactical experiment, and I’m sure Zaccheroni has a better idea of which players are better together. One thing I noticed was that Inui and Kagawa tended to get in each other’s way. Both are fantastic players, but they both like playing through the center. Inui was put on for Fujimoto as a winger in the attacking midfield trio, but he kept drifting inside and getting too close to Kagawa. Maybe Zaccheroni will think about playing Kagawa on the wing when the two play together from now on, as he plays there very effectively for Dortmund. That way the two will crowd each other less.
The people who were disappointed in Uchida said that Zaccheroni should start picking Hiroki Sakai. Also Hajime Hosogai has been touted as a replacement for the not-so-speedy Endo/Hasebe. It will be interesting to see if these two become more involved in the senior team this year. Maybe Gotoku Sakai as well?
Uzbekistan proved once again that they are in peak physical condition. You would think a team that plays the entire match chasing passes and running the length of the pitch on counter-attacks would tire, but they did not. They were just as sharp and organized in defense in the second half as they were in the first. It was very impressive to watch.
Patience. Japan needs to get used to teams sitting back and conceding possession. Uzbekistan sat back, let Japan pass the ball, and launched dangerous counter-attacks on missed passes. If Japan are patient and do not play difficult passes, they will eventually break teams down.
Here are the highlights.
Next is the draw for the fourth round, which takes place on 9 March at Kuala Lumpur.
