NEWS

apan opened their AFC 2011 Asian Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday evening with a 2-1 win over Yemen in a Group A match at KK Wing Stadium in Kumamoto.

Goals from Shinji Okazaki and Tatsuya Tanaka secured the victory for a Japan team without their Europe-based players and several other regulars.
Japan, who have won the Asian Cup three times, attacked hard from the beginning of the game and went ahead in the seventh minute when Okazaki slotted home a Tanaka pass from 10 meters out.
Japan threatened the Yemenis with early efforts from right-back Atsuto Uchida, his Kashima Antlers teammate Shinzo Koroki and midfielder Kengo Nakamura of Kawasaki Frontale. Kashima midfielder Takeshi Aoki also had an attempt in the 26th minute.
Yemen played defensively and rarely used forward Ali Al-Nono in the first half.
But Japan eased off midway through the first half and after the break, and Yemen took advantage of their opportunity.
A minute into the second half, Al-Nono dribbled up the wing before being fouled. Midfielder Zaher Farid rose high to meet Ala Al-Sasi’s free-kick with a powerful header that leveled the scores.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada brought on Kumamoto-born striker Seiichiro Maki in the 60th minute in place of Koroki and the JEF United striker came close almost immediately with a header from a Nakamura corner.
The introduction of the tall JEF striker helped revitalize Japan and the hosts took the lead for good in the 65th minute when Tanaka headed home an Okazaki flick.
Okazaki then hit the woodwork twice in a matter of minutes and saw another effort flash past the post.
“I could tell that our players were eager to play even before the kickoff,” Okada said. “I’m sure they have learned how hard international games can be and that they must improve the speed of their decision making. But they earned the win, so I’m grateful to them.”
Yemen coach Sami Hasan Saleh Al-Nash, who was appointed a week ago following back-to-back defeats in the recent Gulf Cup, said: “Our players did everything they could today.”
“We were not in good shape as we only had a short stay here ahead of the game, and the cold weather affected us.”
Al-Nash added, “I thought we might have earned a draw, but we couldn’t make it. Japan is a strong team, so I don’t think we did badly.”
In the Asian Cup qualifiers, 19 teams have been divided into five groups. The top two finishers from each group will earn a place in the finals in Doha, Qatar.
Japan will next play Bahrain in Manama on January 28. The qualifiers will then resume in November when Japan will play Hong Kong at home on November 14 and away on November 18. In 2010, Japan will visit Yemen on January 6 before meeting Bahrain on March 3.
Japan won the Asian Cup in 1992, 2000 and 2004, but finished fourth in the 2007 edition.

Teams:

Japan—Eiji Kawashima, Yuichi Komano, Shuhei Terada, Kazumichi Takagi, Atsuto Uchida, Takeshi Aoki, Kengo Nakamura, Shinji Kagawa (Mu Kanazaki, 88th), Tatsuya Tanaka (Takashi Inui, 79th), Shinji Okazaki, Shinzo Koroki (Seiichiro Maki, 60th). Coach, Takeshi Okada
Yemen—Salem Abdullah, Mohammed Saleh, Zaher Farid, Ahmed Alwadi, Awsam Al-Sayed, Mohammed Al-Ammari, Ali Mobarak (Saleh Al-Shehri, 84th), Akram Al-Worafi (Haithm Thabit, 73rd), Ala Al-Sasi, Yaser Basuhai, Ali Al-Nono (Basem Al-Aqel, 67th). Coach, Sami Hasan Saleh Al-Nash
Goals—Shinji Okazaki (7th min) and Tatsuya Tanaka (66th min) for Japan. Zaher Farid (47th min) for Yemen
Cautions—Ali Mobarak (Yemen)
Expulsions—None
Attendance—30,654
Referee—Tan Hai (China)