25 Jun 2010(Fri)

(This article originally appeared on the Football Japan Minutecast. Listen to the audio version here, or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here.)

 

Japan put in perhaps their finest ever performance – and certainly one of the most impressive by any team in South Africa thus far – to defeat Denmark 3-1 in Rustenburg last night and seal qualification to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time ever on foreign soil.

 

Two superb free kicks in the first half from Keisuke Honda and Yasuhito Endo gave Takeshi Okada’s side a lead they never looked like surrendering, even after a late Danish rally had seen Jon Dahl Tomasson pull a single goal back with nine minutes remaining. Substitute forward Shinji Okazaki added a third in the dying moments of the game to guarantee the win, sparking scenes of jubilation both on the substitutes’ bench and in bars, homes, and streets throughout Japan shortly after 5am local time.

 

Unsurprisingly, Okada continued with the same eleven that had beaten Cameroon in their opening Group E game before losing narrowly to Holland five days previously, but the manager did raise a few eyebrows by pushing Makoto Hasebe forward to support the attack in what therefore became a 4-2-3-1 formation. Denmark coach Morten Olsen made two changes to his side, restoring Thomas Kahlenberg to the midfield in place of Jesper Grønkjær, while Per Krøldrup deputised for the suspended Simon Kjær in central defence.

 

The return to the formation that had worked in Asian qualification but rarely since handed the early initiative to Denmark – who needed a win to seal their place in the last 16 – as left-back Simon Poulsen found space to surge forward and combine with Tomasson in attacking positions. Okada quickly instructed Hasebe to step back and restore the 4-1-2-2-1 system of the previous two matches, but if observers feared this signalled an intention to play for the draw that would secure Japan’s progression, their worries were allayed when Daisuke Matsui and Hasebe both went close to scoring within a matter of seconds.

 

The opening goal then duly arrived on 17 minutes. Honda lined up a free-kick fully 30 yards from goal near the right-hand touchline, before firing a wickedly powerful shot with very little spin that Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen struggled to read before the ball eventually flew in past his outstretched right hand. With Japan now firmly in the ascendancy, it took only until the half-hour mark for Endo to double the lead from another set piece, this time with more conventional right-footed curl to take the ball around the wall from just outside the penalty area.

 

Olsen immediately reacted by sending on midfielder Jakob Poulsen for the disappointing Martin Jørgensen, but Japan continued to surge forwards and could have added a bizarre third shortly after the interval when Endo’s looping free-kick was spilled onto the post by Sørensen. Denmark finally found some momentum thereafter when Eiji Kawashima saved at the feet of Tomasson, before substitute Søren Larsen hit the crossbar with a cracking volley from 20 yards. The breakthrough eventually came when Hasebe was harshly penalised for a push on Daniel Agger inside the Japanese penalty area, though Tomasson needed two attempts to score after his weak spot kick was parried back to him by Kawashima.

 

Japan remained entirely unfazed, and put the icing on the cake of their finest ever achievement on 87 minutes when Honda danced past Dennis Rommedahl, before drawing Sørensen and squaring for Okazaki to slot home the easiest of finishes.

 

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The victory was, once again, a triumph for a manager who had endured fierce criticism in the months leading to the tournament for his lack of results and ideas in Japan’s warm-up matches. Okada admitted after the game that his tactical switch after just ten minutes had been necessary to restore stability, and praised his players for “fighting not as individuals but together, and proving conclusively that football is above all a team sport”.

 

Perhaps the most revealing comments as regards Japan’s upturn in fortunes came from man-of-the-match Honda. “I’m pleased,” said the CSKA Moscow midfielder, “but then not as much as I thought I would be. We’re still a long way from fulfilling our goals in this competition, and we need to show that nothing is impossible in the next game as well now. Until then, we can’t be satisfied”.

 

Japan will now take on Group F winners Paraguay in their second round match in Pretoria next Tuesday afternoon, after Gerardo Martino’s side secured qualification with a goalless draw against New Zealand. Holland sealed top spot in Group E thanks to a 2-1 victory over already-eliminated Cameroon, and will face Slovakia in the last 16 after their shock 3-2 win to knock out defending champions Italy.