16 Jul 2007(Mon)

July 14, 2007: Now that was a whole lot better, wasn't it?

Not only did Japan beat UAE 3-1, they played with a much more professional and business-like attitude.

They added some steel and bite to their game, especially in the last third of the field, and had the victory wrapped up by half-time thanks to the extremely generous penalty award.

Still, it was worrying that UAE managed to pull one back with only 10 men, and there are clearly communication problems through the middle with the Kawaguchi-Abe-Nakazawa combination.

So Japanese fans must not get carried away, as the team only has four points and faces a last group game against the host nation. This will be a unique experience for the Japanese players in an incredible atmosphere, and they will have to tame the home team quickly in order to take control and avoid an embarrassing upset.

With their superior skills, experience and height advantage, though, Japan should be able to come through, but they will have to scrap furiously against Vietnam in the opening exchanges.

Against UAE, the presence of Maki opened up more space for Takahara, who produced two expert finishes to underline Japan's superiority.

But the player I was most pleased with was Komano. Very early in the game he cut in from the left wing and shot for goal, and soon after Endo ran through the middle and tried to score alone. This was great to see from Japan, players taking responsibility, and set the tone for the evening.

I hope they retain this positive attitude for the rest of the tournament instead of passing the ball to death on the edge of the box and refusing to shoot when they are in a good position.

Osim must encourage them to shoot, and encourage them when they miss the target, just like Komano did shortly after.

Taka's two goals put Japan well in control with less than a third of the match completed, and the penalty ended the game as a contest.

I must admit I could not believe it when the ref penalised the keeper for catching Endo, who had lofted the ball to the far post. But this is not Japan's concern, and Shunsuke brushed aside the controversey and scored convincingly from the spot.

Late in the game, Osim sent on his JEF United ekiden team of Hanyu and Mizuno to join Maki and old boy Abe -- further evidence that "JFA" stands for JEF Football Association -- in order to maintain an attacking tempo, and resting key players for the battle ahead.

Monday will be mayhem, and Japan's job is far from finished -- but this was much better.

ends