NEWS

OSAKA – The Japan national team beat the J. League TEAM AS ONE 2-1 in the “Gambaro, Japan” charity match at Nagai Stadium in Osaka on Tuesday.

The match was a benefit for the victims of the March 11 earthquake that devastated large areas of northern Japan.
Yasuhito Endo and Shinji Okazaki scored for Japan, before 44-year-old Kazu Miura responded for the J. League XI to the delight of the 40,613 spectators.
The J. League XI came close early on with an attempt by Sanfrecce Hiroshima forward Hisato Sato in the seventh minute.
But it was the Samurai Blue who had the upper-hand in the first half and they went ahead in the 15th minute when Gamba Osaka’s Endo curled in a classy free-kick from just outside the box.
Four minutes later, Okazaki made it 2-0 for Japan. The Stuttgart forward latched on to a ball from Keisuke Honda and chipped the ball past Seigo Narazaki.
With most of their players fresh from games in Europe, the Samurai Blue – playing in an experimental 3-4-3 formation – dominated the first half.
In the 29th minute, Honda came close with a shot from inside the box after a fine ball from Ryoichi Maeda.
For the J. League side, Ryang Yong Gi of Vegalta Sendai made a couple of good attempts, but his team couldn’t breach Japan’s defense.
Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni made eight substitutions at half-time.
Substitute forward Tadanari Lee threatened the J. League goal with a shot from inside the box in the 70th minute, while Daisuke Matsui, another halftime sub, made J. League substitute goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi work hard to keep out a skillful attempt from just outside the box two minutes later.
TEAM AS ONE coach Dragan Stojkovic replaced five of his players around the hour mark, with the biggest cheer reserved for former Japan international Kazu Miura.
The introduction of Shunsuke Nakamura at half-time also helped boost the J. League’s side attacking options. In the 74th minute, Sendai attacker Kunimitsu Sekiguchi had a shot from a tight angle, but saw his effort go the wrong side of the post.
The game’s big moment came in the 82nd minute when Kazu latched on to a Marcus Tulio Tanaka header, held off two Japan defenders and volleyed a right-foot shot past Kawaguchi to the obvious delight of the fans.
Prior to the game, Japan captain Makoto Hasebe and J. League counterpart Yuji Nakazawa sent messages of encouragement to the victims of the earthquake, while popular J-pop singer Mai Kuraki sang the Japanese national anthem.
Immediately before the kickoff, the players gathered around the centre circle and the stadium fell silent in a moment of reflection and prayer for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.