Japan 8-0 Tajikistan

Japan were outstanding. Let’s get that out of the way. Tajikistan weren’t great and they did not press the ball like they should have, but Japan were still very good. 8-0 is the result of excellent play no matter the opposition.

Mike Havenaar opened the scoring in the 12th minute with his first international goal. The goal was good, but the celebration was even better. The look of utter jubilation that he had after scoring for his country for the first time was heartwarming and reminded me of why I watch football in the first place.

Seven minutes later Shinji Okazaki scored. Intense pressure by Okazaki led to Tajikistan conceding possession, and then slick passing in the box by Kengo Nakamura and Shinji Kagawa, with a nice dummy from Havenaar left Okazaki with a opportunity to finish. This was the goal of the match.

Then sixteen minutes later Yuichi Komano scored. Again tidy passing in the box between Komano and Havenaar’s chest gave Nakamura an opportunity that was saved, only for the ball to be laced into the back of the net by Komano from outside the box. It was also his first goal for Japan. Everybody was getting on the scoresheet. Except for talisman Shinji Kagawa…

…who scored six minutes later. After some short passes with Nagatomo, Kagawa made a clever run and was picked out by Nakamura (again) and he scored with a first-time dink with the outside of his right foot. Another excellent goal. That was it for the first half.

If Tajikistan had planned damage limitation in the second half, they had to scrap that plan two minutes in when Havenaar got his second. His placed header off a Komano cross left the Tajik keeper with no chance. Then Kengo Nakamura scored in the 56th minute. It was a deserved goal for the midfielder who had created close to ten chances till then. Then Kagawa scored in the 68th. It looked like a cross that flew directly in, but in the post-match interview he said that it was a shot. Then Okazaki scored in the 73rd. A regular header at the back post. Then that was that.

This match could’ve been a trap. After a draw away in the most difficult tie of this round of qualifying, heavily-favored Japan returns home fully expecting three points from Tajikistan, who are only still around because another team was disqualified. Japan struggles to score in the first half against a dogged Tajik defense, before conceding a counterattack goal midway through the second half. Tajikistan holds off for the shock 1-0 win. Thankfully, this did not happen. Zaccheroni definitely had his team ready after a light friendly with Vietnam last week.

Tajikistan is not a bad team. They only lost to North Korea and Uzbekistan 1-0 each in their first group matches. Granted they were only still in qualification because Syria was thrown out, they are no San Marino. Japan was just very good.

Japan had 45 shots while Tajikistan had zero. It seemed as if Japan always had the ball, and when Tajikistan did have it, they couldn’t string two passes together. Kawashima didn’t touch the ball until towards the end of the first half. It was one of those games where you wanted to see everyone get on the score sheet. And you wanted the stars to get hattricks. Instead we had to settle for three braces.

Some points: The match was in Osaka, Kagawa’s hometown. It was great to see the fans cheer on their native son who rewarded their support with a fine display. It was also good to see Kagawa with some clinical finishes, something he has not been doing so far this season in Germany.

The Tajik players did not have names on the back of their shirts–they had ‘Tajikistan’. Whether this was to promote unity or just because they didn’t have individual shirts ready is not clear. But it was funny to see.

This was Japan’s last home game of the year. The next match is away at Tajikistan on November 11 followed by another away match at North Korea four days later. Four points from the two matches would see Japan progress to the fourth round.

Highlights.

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.

Uzbekistan 1-1 Japan

Not a great performance, but a decent result. This was probably Japan’s most difficult fixture of the round, and they were able to get out of Tashkent with a point.

Uzbekistan were the better side in the first half, rushing forward at every opportunity. Their attacking intent got them a goal in the eighth minute with a tidy finish from captain Server Djeparov. They had hit the post earlier, so the goal didn’t exactly come against the run of play.

As Football Japan points out, the poor quality of the pitch didn’t help Japan’s usually crisp short passing. Nonetheless, Japan’s first half performance wasn’t great, and though they enjoyed more possession, Uzbekistan looked the more threatening. Again, Kagawa was tightly marked and the midfield clearly missed the creativity of Honda and the width of Nagatomo. Tadanari Lee had little to work with but was unlucky not to score when he slammed a shot off the post.

The second half performance was massively improved and Japan got a deserved equalizer in the 65th minute. Okazaki scored with a diving header off a good cross from Uchida. Uzbekistan continued to look dangerous on counterattacks but Japan pinned back their opponents for most of the half. In the end, both teams got a deserved point.

Some points: Uzbekistan is a fit side. They pressed Japan from the start and were able to quickly turn defense into attack. They left massive spaces in the middle of the park with some poor marking but were able to make up for it with their speed. I thought that this wouldn’t last and that Japan would be able to pick them apart in the second half as they tired. I was wrong. Japan did outplay Uzbekistan in the second half but it was because they played better, not because their opponents tired. Uzbekistan looked dangerous on the counterattack throughout the entire match.

Tadanari Lee was visibly frustrated when he was taken off for Mike Havenaar right after the equalizer. He hit the post twice in the match and played pretty well and so he was naturally frustrated he didn’t get the goal he wanted. He still bowed to the fans after he was taken off and shook hands with Zaccheroni. He was just upset with his own performance. This is good to see and is indicative of Lee’s great desire and commitment.

Though Japan didn’t play well and struggled in an uncomfortable environment, they still could’ve won the match. Perseverance and the ability to not get frustrated as a team even when not playing well are important qualities for good teams.

Man of the Match: Kawashima was excellent for Japan. He made several great saves, including a breakaway late in the match. For Uzbekistan, talisman Djeparov got the goal but young midfielder Odil Ahmedov was the standout performer. He was excellent breaking up Japan’s midfield play and then sprinting into attack. He was praised for his displays in the Asian Cup earlier this year and Japan witnessed his quality firsthand.

Next up is a home match against Tajikistan, who currently sit last after losing their first two matches.

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.