NEWS

Japan lost 2-1 to Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday night in their eighth and final match of the Asian final-round qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Australia and Japan had both booked their tickets to South Africa earlier this month.
Japan completed their qualifying campaign with a 4-3-1 win-draw-loss record for 15 points, finishing in second place in Group A, five points behind Australia, who were unbeaten with a 6-2-0 record.
Urawa Reds defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka scored the opener in the 39th minute for Japan, the first goal scored against Australia in the final round of qualifiers. But Everton striker Tim Cahill equalized in the 59th minute and scored the winner in the 77th minute.
“This concluded our long battle in the qualifying campaign and our players fought very hard to the very end of a tough competition schedule,” Japan coach Takeshi Okada said.
Both teams changed their lineups around due to injuries and in order to rest players.
Japan played without midfielders Shunsuke Nakamura, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe and Keisuke Honda, and Yoshito Okubo up front. In addition, Yuji Nakazawa didn’t play due to a cold. Australia, meanwhile, had to do without Galatasaray forward Harry Kewell and Palermo midfielder Marco Bresciano amongst others.
The two teams drew 0-0 in Yokohama in February, but it was the hosts who took control of the game in Melbourne, applying strong pressure and passing well, while the Japanese players struggled to find their pace.
The home side came close in the seventh minute when Cahill and Mile Sterjovski hit back-to-back shots, but Japan goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki reacted well to protect his goal.
Japan’s first chance came in the 22nd minute when Keiji Tamada’s header from an Atsuto Uchida cross was cleared. Three minutes later, Yuki Abe’s attempt was also cleared by an opponent.
The high point for Japan came in the 39th minute when Tulio broke free from his marker and headed in a Kengo Nakamura corner to put the visitors 1-0 up.
Shortly before the break, a goalbound Tamada free-kick was headed off the line by Lucas Neil.
The Aussies fought hard in front of the 74,100 home crowd and leveled the scores in the 59th minute when Cahill outjumped Tulio and met Vince Grella’s free-kick with a looping header that curled into the net.
Cahill then went one better in the 77th minute when he volleyed home a Nick Carle corner from close range.
Japan midfielder Kengo Nakamura had a chance in the 84th minute, shortly before Okada brought on Kashima Antlers forward Shinzo Koroki to increase Japan’s attacking power, but the visitors weren’t able to break through the Australian defense.
“I think our players did well as a unit, but I felt it hard to play our own brand of football without enough possession. I explained this to our players at halftime, but things still didn’t go well.
“On the other hand, we were not really broken down by our opponents, were at a height disadvantage at set plays, so we need to reduce the number of set plays we give away.
“I don’t think we should be pessimistic about our offense just because of today’s defeat. We had some chances – not many, but we still had some. We just have to win the second ball and push forward to develop our attack again.”
Asked about the performances of those players who hadn’t been used much before, Okada replied: “All of our players showed their character. They can shine more if they can work alongside our key players in terms of defense and offense.
“However, it is important to play regularly for your own team. Take [Daisuke] Matsui, for example, who had cramp and twisted his foot later in the game; you won’t last long if you haven’t played enough.”
Australia coach Pim Verbeek was satisfied with the outcome of the result.
“I’m very proud of our players,” Verbeek said. “At the end of a long and tough season, they still had the power and courage to fight back from being 1-0 down in the first half. We had great goals from Timmy and I think the players did very well till the last seconds.
“We didn’t lose a game, but we conceded one goal. We can’t have it all, can we? But I think it’s fantastic, and I’m very proud of our players.”
The Dutchman added, “It was the first time in this campaign to go 1-0 behind. So I had to wait to see what the team was going to do, and they reacted fantastic. We started very well in the second half and I was just waiting for the goal. I was not worried.
“Japan missed three important players in Nakamura, Hasebe and Nakazawa. That’s a lot. They [Japan] played as good as possible and made it very difficult for us in the first half. But we took over completely in the second half and finished it off. I can understand they were not as good as the last time [in February], but still, Japan is a good team with good young players. Okada-san did a great job.”

Teams:
Australia—Mark Schwarzer, Rhys Williams (Jacob Burns, 77th), Jade North, Lucas Neill, Shane Stefanutto, Vince Grella, Jason Culina, Mile Sterjovski, Tim Cahill (Dario Vidosic, 84th), Nick Carle (Scott McDonald, 77th), Joshua Kennedy. Coach, Pim Verbeek
Japan—Seigo Narazaki, Atsuto Uchida, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuki Abe, Yuto Nagatomo, Hideo Hashimoto (Shinzo Koroki, 84th), Yasuyuki Konno, Kengo Nakamura, Daisuke Matsui (Kisho Yano, 67th), Shinji Okazaki, Keiji Tamada. Coach, Takeshi Okada
Goals—Marcus Tulio Tanaka (39th min) for Japan, Tim Cahill (59th min, 77th min) for Australia
Cautions—None
Expulsions—None
Attendance—74,100
Referee—Khalil Ibrahim M. Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)