1 Jun 2009(Mon)

May 29, 2009: There was much to admire in Japan's performance against Chile at Osaka on Wednesday night.

They played with a vitality which promised a bright future, and with a vibrancy that Chile could not repel; all of which led to a handsome 4-0 victory.

Vitality-Vibrancy-Victory. This is what the "VVV" could well stand for in VVV-Venlo, home club, at least for the time being, of Keisuke Honda.

Filling in for Shunsuke Nakamura on the right side of the "3" in Takeshi Okada's 4-2-3-1 formation, Honda's energy and willingness to run at defenders and shoot really stood out.

The official match record credited him with seven attempts at goal, including, naturally, his cool finish to complete the scoring in stoppage time. That's a refreshing statistic for a Japanese player, as so often we see them decline the chance to shoot when in a good position to do so.

A classic example was the first goal, scored by Shinji Okazaki in the 20th minute. The bustling S-Pulse striker did wonderfully well to control the ball and, with his back to goal, hold off the Chile defence and lay it back to Honda. Despite being a long way out, there was only one thing on Honda's mind, to shoot for goal with his powerful left foot. When Miguel Pinto, Chile's captain and keeper, could not hold it, Okazaki followed up to steer the loose ball into the net.

Then came Yuji Nakazawa's "Total Football" moment, as the big centre half appeared on the right wing, showed nifty footwork and produced a gem of a pass behind the Chile defence and into the path of Okazaki. Another top-quality finish and it was 2-0, with Okazaki enjoying his second two-goal game for the national team. (His first double, in the 5-1 rout of Finland, didn't do him much good, though, as he was dropped for the next match, the World Cup qualifier against Australia).

Although Okazaki started on the left side of the "3", with Kengo Nakamura in the middle and advised by Okada to think of Steven Gerrard in this role, the S-Pulse forward and lone striker Keiji Tamada had already begun to inter-change before Tamada hobbled off in the 39th minute.

To be honest I am growing weary of Tamada, staying down after an innocuous challenge and seeking advice and/or treatment from the bench. I think Okada is, too, judging by his less-than-sympathetic response on some occasions, as I am sure he would prefer for Tamada just to get on with it and stop whingeing.

Now, with Okazaki playing so well on his own up front, Okada could decide it's time for a change of the "1" at the top of the formation.

ends