Japan 0-1 Uzbekistan

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.

Japanese Players in Europe

Borussia Dortmund maintained its two-point lead atop the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. The match was settled by a brilliant individual goal by Shinji Kagawa. After a poor start to the season, he has really hit form and, with Robert Lewandowski, has been Dortmund’s best player in the absence of Mario Gotze. He has now scored four times in 2012, leading Dortmund to top of the table and an undefeated record on the year.

Ryo Miyaichi made his English debut, playing the entire second half of Bolton’s 2-1 home defeat to Wigan. He was brilliant throughout and almost salvaged a point for the Wanderers, forcing a great save from Ali Al-Habsi. Manager Owen Coyle singled Ryo out for praise in his post-match interview.

Mike Havenaar played the entire match, as Vitesse lost 3-1 away to Feyenoord. Red-hot Man City loanee John Guidetti had yet another hattrick for Feyenoord who moved up to fourth with the win. Michihiro Yasuda was an unused substitute.

Shinji Okazaki scored once as Stuttgart smacked Hertha Berlin 5-0. The win lifts Stuttgart to 9th in the table. Makoto Hasebe and Wolfsburg are one spot ahead in the standings, winning 3-2 over Freiburg. Captain Hasebe played the entire second half. Meanwhile, Takashi Usami was an unused substitute as Bayern beat relegation-bound Kaiserslautern 2-0.

Both Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen played as VVV beat Groningen 2-0, to climb further from automatic relegation. Yoshida played the entire match, while Cullen came on as a late substitute. Meanwhile, Yoshiaki Takagi maintained his place in the first team as Utrecht drew 1-1 Ado Den Haag.

Sorry for the long absence readers, I will be posting more regularly now.

Japanese Players Update

The blog is back! Sorry for the lack of posts over the past three weeks, I’ve been busy with finals and the holiday season. To make up for it I’ll be posting regularly for the next week and a half. First off, an update on how Japanese players have been doing over in the European leagues.

The star of the last month has undoubtedly been Yuto Nagatomo. The fullback scored in back-to-back games against Fiorentina and Genoa, both Inter wins. His goal against Genoa was a header, and at 5 foot 7 he was the shortest player on the pitch. Then, in the next game Nagatomo provided two assists in a 4-1 win over Lecce, giving Inter the trickery that they have missed as Wesley Sneijder has struggled this year. The win catapulted Inter into fifth place going into the winter break, incredible considering their terrible start to the season. Here are the highlights of Nagatomo terrorizing last place Lecce.

Shinji Kagawa is currently struggling with gastroenteritis and was forced to pull out of a charity match in Sendai to support earthquake relief efforts. However he did play well in the two matches leading up to the winter break in Germany. He scored in Dortmund’s 1-1 draw at home to Kaiserslautern. Then in Dortmund’s 4-1 away win against Freiburg, he set up three goals and was a constant threat throughout the match. For Dortmund’s first goal, Kagawa played an excellent one-two with Ilkay Gundogan before putting it on a plate for Robert Lewandowski. In the 59th minute, Kagawa played a ball between two Freiburg defenders to put Lewandowski through. The Pole opted to wait for support and then served it up for Grosskreutz who curled it off the far post for Dortmund’s third. Finally in the 70th minute, Kagawa put Grosskreutz through who then provided Lewandowski with a tap-in to finish the scoring. The win put Dortmund into second place on goal difference ahead of Schalke, and only three points behind Bayern. It was a good finish to the first half of the season for Kagawa, who at times was outshone by the likes of Mario Gotze and Lewandowski, but these performances will encourage him to improve further in the second half. Highlights for the Freiburg match are here.

December has been decent to Japan’s other Bundesliga star. Makoto Hasebe was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in Wolfsburg’s 2-2 draw with Mainz. The Japanese captain was carded twice in less than ten minutes to earn an early trip home. However, he was crucial in front of the defense in his next match, a 1-0 win over Stuttgart. Compatriot Shinji Okazaki watched the match from the Stuttgart bench as an unused substitute. He had a quiet month, with no goals in four matches.

Takashi Usami has had a good month in Bayern’s reserves, as he continues to destroy lower league defenses. He scored a goal in Bayern II’s 4-1 away win at Karlsruher II. Then he came on as a substitute in the first team’s 2-0 away loss against Manchester City.

Michihiro Yasuda had an excellent December with Vitesse. The Arnhem side went undefeated in four December matches, with three wins and a draw, conceding only once–in a 2-1 cup win over FC Eindhoven. Yasuda has been a vital part of a defense that has not conceded a goal in the Eredivisie for over 400 minutes. Vitesse has risen to 6th place during this stretch.

On the other hand, VVV Venlo continued to struggle in December and have entered the winter break second to last and firmly on course for relegation. Venlo won once and lost twice in the month, including a 7-0 loss away at Heracles. Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen will hope for vast improvement in the second half of the season.

FC Utrecht had an equally torrid month, with one draw and two losses. However, Yoshiaki Takagi started all three of the matches.

Finally, Hiroshi Ibusuki scored three times in as many December games for Sevilla II. He now has eleven goals in 18 matches for the reserves, already one more than he had all of last season.

Look forward to more posts all of this week, including a year review of the national team and the first annual Japan Footblog Player of the Year Award!

Tajikistan 0-4 Japan

Japan have qualified for the fourth round of World Cup qualifying, with a 4-0 away win at Tajikistan. Shinji Okazaki had two goals, while Yasuyuki Konno and Ryoichi Maeda added a goal each. While it wasn’t the 8-0 hammering that they dished out when the two teams met a month ago, it was a good performance in an unfamiliar setting.

Konno opened the scoring in the 36th minute, pouncing on the rebound of Kengo Nakamura’s shot. It was Konno’s first goal in 47 appearances for the national team. The FC Tokyo defender started the attack with an excellent tackle on the left side, eventually leading to captain Hasebe putting Nakamura through with a wonderful chipped pass. The Tajik keeper was able to keep Nakamura’s shot out, but was helpless to keep out Konno’s follow-up.

Okazaki made it 2-0 in the 61st minute with a header. Kagawa made easy work of the Tajik rightback, then sent in a perfect dinked cross to the far post, which Okazaki finished with expert ease.

Maeda made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute with a ferocious shot from the edge of the box. After receiving a pass from Hajime Hosogai, Maeda was forced right by good defending. Unable to penetrate the line of Tajik defenders or find Okazaki or Nakamura, Maeda went right and bypassed the defensive line altogether with an unstoppable shot to the near post. It was the sixth national team goal for the Jubilo Iwata legend.

It was 4-0 in stoppage time after Okazaki finished off a beautiful team goal. Yuichi Komano started the move with a headed pass to Kagawa, who controlled and shrugged off a defender. He passed to Kiyotake. Then the two Cerezo Osaka products played a brilliant one-two (Kagawa backheel). Then Kiyotake played another one-two with Maeda, then played a one-time pass to an open Okazaki on the right who powered home. Seven passes, goal. It was a goal that Spain and Barcelona would be proud of.

Some points: Japan shredded Tajikistan apart attacking from the left. Konno, Nakamura, Kiyotake, and Kagawa all combined well to play some pretty football.

Japan struggled at first with the dreadful pitch. However as the game wore on, they were able to complete more passes and create more chances. It was good to see the ability to adapt to an unfamiliar situation.

The squad is getting deeper. Zaccheroni has been playing a lot of different players and they are now getting used to the short passing style that he’s been implementing. There were good performances from those who wouldn’t necessarily walk into the first xi, Kiyotake and Maeda in particular. This is a very good sign.

Up next is the highly anticipated match at North Korea.

Highlights.

Japanese Players in Europe

Shinji Kagawa was the Japanese star this weekend, as he scored a goal and had two glorious assists. He has been criticized this season for his inconsistent play, but he was in top form in Dortmund’s 5-1 demolition of Wolfsburg. He set up Mario Gotze with a slick backheel for the first, then scored the second just before halftime. In the second half he set up Robert Lewandowski with a heavenly pass with the outside of his boot. Lewandowski did his best to miss the opportunity but managed to score anyway. While Makoto Hasebe was probably unhappy with not playing, he can take comfort in the fact that he was in no way responsible for Wolfsburg’s capitulation. Highlights here.

Hajime Hosogai scored in Augsburg’s 2-1 home loss to Bayern. Goals from Mario ‘The Luckiest Player in the World’ Gomez and Franck Ribery had Bayern 2-0 before 30 minutes had gone. Hosogai netted in the 59th minute to make things interesting, however the newly promoted side were unable to complete the comeback. Takashi Usami was an unused substitute, probably a reward for his continued excellence for Bayern II. Usami has scored five times in nine games for the reserves. Highlights here.

Shinji Okazaki started, got a yellow card, and was subbed off in the 64th minute of Stuttgart’s 3-1 loss at Mainz. All in all, not his best day.

Both Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen started Venlo’s 0-0 draw with Excelsior. Yoshida played the entire match, but Cullen was subbed off for Michael Uchebo, who is wanted by Stoke. Transfer rumours!

A bit of bad news now, as Ryo was injured in Arsenal reserves 2-0 reserve win over Fulham reserves. He was taken off in the 30th minute with an ankle injury that will keep him out for a minimum of three weeks, according to reserve team coach Neil Banfield. This means he will not feature in the Carling Cup match against Man City. He did play well in his 30 minutes though!

Another injury note: Nagatomo’s calf is still hurt, so he had to pull out of Japan squad, and was replaced by Vitesse’s Michihiro Yasuda, who incidentally played all of Vitesse’s 1-0 loss to NAC Breda over the weekend.

Some good news to end the report: 20 year-old, 6 foot 5, Hiroshi Ibusuki was given a place on the Sevilla bench in this weekend’s match against Mallorca. Ibusuki has been pulling out trees at Sevilla II, scoring 7 goals in 12 matches, making him the second leading scorer in Segunda Division B group 4. Well done!!!

Some links: Here are two articles by the always excellent Yoree Koh on Japanese supporters traveling to North Korea for the upcoming World Cup qualifier. Here and here.

Japanese Players in Europe

Shinji Kagawa scored in the 7th minute as Dortmund hammered Cologne 5-0. Incredibly the win moves the reigning champions into 2nd place, which is astonishing considering their poor start to the season. It was Kagawa’s 2nd goal of the season. Dortmund were excellent, and back to the form that saw them win the Bundesliga at a canter last year. Tomoaki Makino did not make it off the bench for Cologne.

Yuto Nagatomo played the entire ninety minutes as Inter beat Chievo 1-0. Thiago Motta’s lone goal was enough to earn Inter just their second league win of the season, and lifting them to 16th place. Yes, 16th.

Maya Yoshida scored again as VVV Venlo hammered RKC Waalwijk 4-1 on Saturday. However, they are still in the relegation zone.

Shinji Okazaki played 76 minutes in Stuttgart’s 2-2 draw with Nurnberg on Saturday. They are currently in 5th place in the Bundesliga.

Makoto Hasebe played all 90 minutes of Wolfsburg’s 1-1 draw with Hamburg. They remain in 11th place.

Hajime Hosogai played all 90 minutes of Augsburg’s 1-1 draw with Bremen. Augsburg remain in the relegation zone.

Takayuki Morimoto played 60 minutes before being subbed off in Novara’s 3-0 loss to table-toppers Udinese. He was booked in the 15th minute.

Masahiko Inoha scored in the 60th minute in Hajduk Split’s 3-0 win over Lucko on Friday. No, I did not watch this match, but good for him that he scored.

Takashi Usami played all 90 minutes of Bayern II’s 2-1 win over Hessen Kassel. I don’t know if he played well, but the win moves the reserves up to 14th in the Regionalliga Sud standings.

Japanese Players in Europe

This past week of fixtures was a bit more successful for Japanese players in Europe.

Shinji Kagawa got his first goal for Dortmund this season, with a tidy finish. However Dortmund ended up losing 2-1 at home to Hannover to continue their appalling start to the season. They are now already 8 points behind leaders Bayern.

Atsuto Uchida played the full 90 minutes of Schalke’s 2-0 loss at home to rivals Bayern. Compatriot Takashi Usami was on the opposing bench but did not feature.

Makoto Hasebe started in midfield in Wolfsburg’s 3-1 loss at Hoffenheim, and incredibly finished the game as the keeper. He played the final nine minutes in goal, as first-choice keeper Marvin Hitz was sent off. Hasebe could not save the ensuing penalty.

Takayuki Morimoto scored his first goal for Novara in a 2-1 loss at Cagliari. His deflected shot looped over the keeper to get Novara a consolation goal. During the midweek, Morimoto was influential in the sacking of Gianpiero Gasperini as Novara stunned Inter 3-1. Morimoto played well, linking the midfield with strike-partner Riccardo Meggiorini. He also earned a penalty that gave Novara a late 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Yuto Nagatomo played the full 90 minutes of both Inter’s 0-0 weekend draw with Roma and the disappointing loss at Novara. He played well against Novara and created many chances, however the team looked disjointed in its new 3-4-3 formation.

Finally, Ryo Miyaichi made his highly anticipated first team debut for Arsenal in their 3-1 Carling Cup win over Shrewsbury. He came on in the 71st minute for fellow debutant and South Korean captain Chu-Young Park. Let’s hope this is the beginning of an incredible career at Arsenal for Ryo.

Japanese Players in Europe

This week’s Japanese hero is Maya Yoshida, who scored a stunning goal for VVV Venlo in their 3-3 draw with PSV. With his late winner against North Korea a couple of weeks ago, Yoshida is currently Japan’s hottest goalscorer. His Japanese teammate Robert Cullen played the full 90 minutes in the match as well.

Besides Yoshida, the Japanese contingency in Europe had another underwhelming week of fixtures. Shinji Kagawa played the entire 90 minutes of Dortmund’s 2-1 loss at Hertha Berlin, as the reigning German champions continued their poor start to the domestic season. In midweek, things were not as bad, as Dortmund earned a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal. Kagawa played the first 85 minutes before being replaced by Mohamed Zidan. Ivan Perisic got Dortmund a valuable home point with an outrageous volley in the 88th minute.

Yuto Nagatomo made his first appearance of the season, playing 62 minutes of Inter’s 4-3 loss at Palermo before being subbed off. He also played the full 90 minutes of Inter’s 1-0 Champions League loss to Trabzonspor on Wednesday. Yes, a truly rotten week for Inter.

A potential clash of Japanese players was avoided when Atsuto Uchida was an unused substitute during Schalke’s 2-1 loss at Wolfsburg, for whom national team captain Makoto Hasebe played the entire 90 minutes. Uchida did play in Schalke’s 0-0 Europa League tie at Steaua Bucuresti on Thursday.

Shinji Okazaki scored the first goal of Stuttgart’s 3-0 win over Hannover.

Youngsters Takashi Usami and Yoshiaki Takagi were both unused subsitutes for Bayern and Utrecht’s respective wins over the weekend. Usami was also on the bench for Bayern’s 2-0 CL win at Valencia on Wednesday. Keisuke Honda continues to be hurt. However, in a nice bit of news, Ryo Miyaichi has recovered from his injury and played in a reserve match, apparently providing a pretty backheel assist.

Japan 1-0 DPRK

Well, that was close. Japan scraped enough together at the end to beat North Korea at home and begin its World Cup qualification with three points. VVV Venlo defender Maya Yoshida won it in stoppage time with a powerful header. It was far from the outstanding performance in the August win over South Korea, but in the end Japan got a valuable win to begin its journey to get to Brazil.

The match was basically one of those Carling Cup affairs where Liverpool or Chelsea play Havant & Waterlooville (no disrespect) and spend the entire 90 minutes passing the ball around but in the end lack the cutting edge to put the ball in the net and prevent an arduous replay. Japan kept the ball well on the wings and passed it around their opponents with ease, but lacked the creativity to get behind the back four. Most of the attacks ended with Atsuto Uchida putting in an underwhelming ball.

Zaccheroni again showed his managing skills with two astute second half changes in an effort to prevent the match from ending in a predictable and disappointing draw. He took off Yosuke Kashiwagi who had a largely pedestrian evening filling in for the injured Keisuke Honda, and threw on the Cerezo Osaka youngster Hiroshi Kiyotake. Then in the 70th, Zacc gave a highly-anticipated debut for Mike Havenaar. The presence of the two subs galvanized the team to pursue a crucial goal, and for the final twenty minute Japan laid siege on the North Korean box, banging a couple shots off the crossbar and forcing keeper Myong-Guk Ri to make several superb saves. They got the goal three minutes into stoppage time, as Yoshida put in Kiyotake’s ball.

Improve: Kagawa, Okazaki, and Kashiwagi lacked ideas in the final third and couldn’t get behind the North Korean defense. Obviously the absence of Honda and Nagatomo took away some quality attacking members, but the overwhelming reliance on balls from the wings should be addressed.

Good: Havenaar brings an Andy Carroll type to the team– excellent in the air but with good technical abilities. He can be a good plan b if Japan needs to get the ball up top quickly, and his skill ensures he won’t disrupt the team’s short passing. It was also good to see some young J. League players in the squad.

Man of the Match: Makoto Hasebe put in an excellent shift as captain. He showed good attacking prowess in addition to his usual defensive contributions.

Next up, an away match at Uzbekistan, the growing continental force. Hopefully Japan will show its cutting edge.

Japanese Players in Europe

Keisuke Honda started CSKA Moscow’s 2-2 draw with city rivals Spartak Moscow on Sunday but was forced off at halftime due to a knee injury. He was replaced by Pavel Mamaev. Despite Zenit St. Petersburg’s 5-0 win over Kuban Krasnodar which put the two sides level on points and Zenit with the superior goal difference, CSKA remain top of the Russian table due to a better head-to-head record.

UPDATE: Honda will miss two-three months due to this knee injury.

Atsuto Uchida played the entire 90 minutes of Schalke’s 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday. The victory put Schalke joint top of the Bundesliga with rivals Bayern Munich.

Shinji Kagawa played 81 minutes of Dortmund’s 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. He was replaced by Jakub Blaszczykowski. The result leaves the reigning Bundesliga champions in sixth place with seven points. Kagawa expressed his disappointment after the match, saying “I missed a good chance to score, it is really regrettable.”

Makoto Hasebe played 50 minutes of Wolfsburg’s 3-0 loss at SC Freiburg on Saturday. Shinji Okazaki played the entire 90 minutes of Vfb Stuttgart’s 1-0 loss at Hertha Berlin.

Yoshiaki Takagi was left on the bench for FC Utrecht’s 3-1 win over Roda JC. The match featured the Eredivise debut of Rodney Sneijder on loan from Ajax. He scored, while brother Wesley cheered from the stands.

Ryo Miyaichi picked up a minor injury during the week and was unavailable for Arsenal’s 8-2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United. The match was utterly cartoonish, with both teams spurning chances upon chances. 10-5 would have better reflected the quality of defending on display. It’s a shame Ryo wasn’t fit, because he would likely have gotten time, and maybe even a goal. On the other hand, he didn’t have to suffer what was undoubtedly a traumatic experience for Arsenal players.

Overall, it was an underwhelming weekend for Japanese players in Europe. Hopefully, they will feature more prominently after the international break.