NEWS

Japan drew 0-0 with Peru in the first match of the 2011 Kirin Cup at Tohoku Denryoku Big Swan Stadium in Niigata on Wednesday night.

Despite the lack of goals, Japan’s first official match since January’s Asian Cup was a lively encounter played on a cool night in damp conditions.
Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni fielded a number of lesser-known faces and tried a new 3-4-3 formation as he seeks to fine-tune his squad ahead of World Cup qualifiers that start in September.
Contributing to the decision to rest some of his best players was the late arrival of some of them and the tough season they had in Europe. As a result, Europe-based players Keisuke Honda, Atsuto Uchida, Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida and Akihiro Ienaga started on the bench, although Shinji Okazaki of VfB Stuttgart, Michihiro Yasuda of Dutch club Vitesse and Eiji Kawashima of Lierse in Belgium were in the starting lineup.
The team was captained by Wolfsburg’s Makoto Hasebe.
And it was Hasebe who had the first shot for Japan, midway through the first half when he connected with a free-kick by Yasuhito Endo, but his shot went wide.
After a quiet start to the match with virtually no attempts on goal, things livened up shortly before the half-hour mark when Adan Balbin tried his luck from distance and Kawashima was forced into making a good save.
Hasebe had another chance in the 28th minute but again shot wide, while Christian Cueva and Jesus Rabanal wasted chances for Peru.
Honda came on at half-time, replacing debutant Daigo Nishi, and Japan reverted to a back four.
Honda’s first free-kick opportunity came 10 minutes into the half when Ryoichi Maeda was brought down outside the box, but the CSKA Moscow star drilled his kick just wide of the post.
As the action intensified – this was certainly not a dull goalless draw – both sides opened up and Peru were starting to look more dangerous as the match progressed.
Shalke striker Jefferson Farfan and Yoshimar Yotun both sent shots wide as Peru started to pepper the Japan goal with shots.
Zaccheroni responded by bringing on Inter Milan’s Nagatomo and Asian Cup hero Tadanari Lee, while another substitute, Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s Ryota Moriwaki, showed his skills with a fabulous tackle on Carlos Lobaton.
Honda came close with a sharp shot under pressure, but Lee blew his best chance when he miskicked the ball from 10 meters out.
Yotun and Lobaton brought out more top saves from Kawashima, while a Raul Ruidiaz shot and a Luis Ramirez header both hit the woodwork, the latter given a helping hand by Kawashima.
With time virtually up, Japan’s fans anticipated a glorious ending when Honda was upended a few yards outside the penalty area. Honda deferred to his colleague Endo, but the Gamba Osaka midfielder’s shot curled wide of the post and World Cup final referee Howard Webb blew the whistle on an entertaining match.
Peru will next play the Czech Republic in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, on June 4, while Japan will meet the Czech Republic at International Stadium in Yokohama on June 7.