NEWS

Japan lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast at Stade de Tourbillon in Sion, Switzerland, on Friday in their final warm-up match before the World Cup .

It was Japan's fourth straight defeat, their first such run since June 1998.
Japan, who will kick off their World Cup campaign against Cameroon in 10 days time, started with the same team who faced England on Sunday.
Takeshi Okada’s side went behind in the 13th minute after an own-goal by Marcus Tulio Tanaka. Kolo Toure added a second for Ivory Coast in the 80th minute.
Ivory Coast, under the guidance of former England coach Sven-Gran Eriksson since March, outplayed their Japanese counterparts with their physical ability and skill on the ball, but their first goal came courtesy of a big slice of luck.
In the 13th minute, a Didier Drogba free-kick ricocheted off the wall into Tulio, who could do nothing to stop the ball going into the net.
Ivory Coast suffered a major blow in the 19th minute when Drogba hurt his right arm in a challenge by Tulio. The Chelsea forward was replaced by Seydou Doumbia.
The Elephants kept the pressure on the Japanese players and came close again in the 29th minute when Doumbia latched on to a long ball and fired off a shot from just outside the box, but the ball flew over the bar.
Japan struggled to create chances, but in the 40th minute Keisuke Honda got hold of a Shinji Okazaki knockdown and hit a neat volley from the right, but his shot also cleared the bar.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada made three substitutions at halftime, bringing in midfielders Junichi Inamoto, Shunsuke Nakamura and Kengo Nakamura. Shunsuke Nakamura had a good effort soon after and Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry had to be alert to keep his free-kick out.
Okada also  brought on forwards Keiji Tamada and Takayuki Morimoto, but the Japanese players were looking tired as their opponents took control of the game.
Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima showed good reactions with back-to-back saves from Eboue and Doumbia around the 60-minute mark.
But the African powerhouse added a second goal in the 80th minute when Kolo Toure latched onto a Siaka Tiene free-kick and side-footed the ball home from close range.
Japan will wrap up their training camp in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, on Saturday and leave for George, South Africa, in the evening.
In the World Cup, Japan will play Cameroon on June 14 in Bloemfontein, the Netherlands on June 19 in Durban and Denmark on June 24 in Rustenburg in Group E.