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Three-time former champions Japan got off to a flying start in their campaign to regain the title with a 2-1 victory over Yemen in the final qualifying round for the 2011 Asian Cup on Tuesday.
Striker Tatsuya Tanaka headed home the decider in the 65th minute when he dived for Shinji Okazaki’s last pass on a right corner from Kengo Nakamura.
The Japanese exchanged quick passes to overwhelm the visitors from the outset and encamped in the Yemen field for most of the time, outshooting Yemen 28-1.
They took an early lead in the seventh minute with Okazaki striking home on a Tanaka cross.
But Yemen evened the score only two minutes into the second half when defender Zaher Farid Al-Fadhli hit a header on a free kick by Ala Al-Sasi — the first shot on goal and the last one for Yemen.
After regaining the lead, the Japanese also created several chances but Okazaki narrowly missed his shots, one hitting the bar, while a Yemen clearance hit the post.
“Our young players have strong motivation to do well, but it didn’t work perfectly. I think they leaned the difference between a real match and a friendly,” said Japan coach Takeshi Okada.
“But it was a game that we should have scored two or three more goals. I hope we can improve our form looking forward to the match against Australia (in the World Cup qualifier next month).”
The top two teams from the four in Group A will qualify for the Asian Cup in Qatar, joining the top three teams in the previous Cup — Iraq, Saudi Arabia, South Korea — hosts Qatar and AFC challenge cup winners India.
In their next matches, Yemen will play Hong Kong at home, while Japan will fly to Bahrain, both on January 28.
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