NEWS

Japan suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bahrain in a 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifier at the National Stadium in Manama on Wednesday evening.

Coupled with Yemen’s 1-0 home win over Hong Kong, Japan is now second in Group A, three points behind Bahrain and level with Yemen. Hong Kong remain winless at the bottom of the table.
It was the fourth time Japan had faced Bahrain since last year. In their previous games, Japan had won twice and lost once.
With Kengo Nakamura of Kawasaki Frontale, Junichi Inamoto of Eintracht Frankfurt and VVV Venlo’s Keisuke Honda in midfield, Japan tried to control the pace of the game, but an upbeat Bahrain team caused the visitors plenty of problems.
Bahrain threatened in the 18th minute when unmarked forward Abdulla Fatadi controlled a pass from the right, but his shot from the edge of the box sailed slightly wide.
Japan came close in the 23rd minute when forward Tatsuya Tanaka sneaked into the area to connect with an Inamoto pass, but his sliding volley was saved by Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Jaafar.
A minute later, Japan went behind. Forward Salman Isa outjumped Atsuto Uchida to get on the end of a long-range free-kick from defender Husain Ali Hasan Ali and his header sailed over the head of Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima into the net.
Two minutes later, midfielder Jamal Rashed came close from just outside the box.
After the break, Japan went on the offensive and Shinji Okazaki came close with a header from a Keiji Tamada corner two minutes into the half.
But with Bahrain keeping the pressure on, the Japanese players frequently lost the ball in the middle of the park, which allowed the hosts opportunities to make counterattacks.
In the 62nd minute, defender Faouzi Mubarak Aaish hit the woodwork with a free-kick, while Salman Isa shot wide from the left side of the box four minutes later.
Japan had a chance in the 69th minute when Inamoto and Yuji Nakazawa hit back-to-back shots following a corner, but they couldn’t beat Bahrain goalkeeper Jaafar.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada brought on forwards Shinzo Koroki of Kashima Antlers and Seiichiro Maki of JEF United Chiba in the 75th and 81st minutes, respectively, but the visitors couldn’t create any more chances.
“It’s a great shame that we lost this game today,” said Okada. “We couldn’t pass the ball around well in midfield in the first half. We improved in the second half, but lacked ideas in our finishing work.”
In the run-up to a World Cup qualifier against Australia on February 11 at International Stadium Yokohama, Japan will next meet Finland on February 4 at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
In the Asian Cup qualifiers, Japan will host Hong Kong on November 14 and play away on November 18. Japan will visit Yemen on January 6 next year before hosting Bahrain on March 3.

Teams:

Japan—Eiji Kawashima, Atsuto Uchida, Shuhei Terada, Yuji Nakazawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Kengo Nakamura, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Okazaki (Shinzo Koroki, 76th), Keisuke Honda (Shinji Kagawa, 63rd), Tatsuya Tanaka (Seiichiro Maki, 82nd), Keiji Tamada. Coach, Takeshi Okada.
Bahrain—Sayed Mohamed Jaafar, Abdulla Fatadi, Mohamed Salmeen, Ismaeel Abudlatif Ismaeel (Jaycee John, 74th), Salman Isa, Abdulla Ismaeel Omar (Mahmood Abdulrahman, 70th), Sayed Mohamed Adnan, Husain Ali Hasan Ali, Jamal Rashed (Abbas Saeed Ayyad, 90th), Faouzi Mubarak Aaish, Mohamed Ahmed Hubail. Coach, Milan Macala.
Goal—Salman Isa (24th min) for Bahrain
Cautions—Shuhei Terada (Japan) and Shinzo Koroki (Japan)
Expulsions—None
Attendance—11,200
Referee—Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)