Hiroshima beat Ulsan, finish fifth at CWC

J. League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima came from behind to beat Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai 3-2 and finish fifth in the FIFA Club World Cup on Wednesday at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture.
　Hiroshima midfielder Yamagishi Satoru cancelled out a teammate’s own goal in the 35th minute and J. League MVP and top goalscorer Sato Hisato struck two goals in the second half for his side’s victory in their first FIFA club tournament.
　Following a 2-1 defeat to African champions Al-Ahly in Sunday’s quarterfinal, Hiroshima changed four of their starting players. Goalkeeper Nishikawa Shusaku was able to play after suffering a cut on his cheek during the previous game.
　But the J. League champions were put under pressure by Ulsan early in the game and allowed the AFC Champions League winners to go ahead in the 17th minute when Hiroshima defender Mizumoto Hiroki’s clearance attempt ended up in his own team’s goal.
　The Korean side, featuring seven former J. League players, went on to attack with attempts from former Gamba Osaka and Jubilo Iwata forward Lee Keun Ho and Korea international forward Kim Shin Wook.
　But Hiroshima leveled the scores in the 35th minute. Sato’s header from a Morisaki Koji free-kick was blocked by Ulsan goalkeeper Kim Young Kwang and Yamagishi reacted sharply to tap in the equalizer from close range.
　Ulsan attacked hard and Kim Shin Wook hit the woodwork in the 41st minute. In the 54th minute, Lee headed Kim Seung Yong’s free-kick goalward, but Nishikawa kept his shot out.
　With Yamagishi working hard on the left side to create chances for Hiroshima, the go-ahead goal came in the 56th minute when Sato beat his marker with a good move up front to connect with a Yamagishi cross.
　Boosted by the goal, the J. League players started playing better and made it 3-1 in the 72nd minute when Sato rushed in to score from a pass by Takahagi Yojiro.
　Ulsan brought on Brazilian attacker Maranhao in the 76th minute and the former FC Tokyo player worked well up front, but Nishikawa and his defenders were also playing well.
　Ulsan finally found the net again five minutes into additional time through Lee Yong off a free-kick, but it was too little, too late.
　“I’d like to compliment my players,” said Hiroshima boss Moriyasu Hajime. “We came to play in this tournament on a tight schedule after finishing our league season and our players mustered up every last bit of energy they had to compete right to the end.
“I am so glad that we could play good football and end with a victory. That was significant for us.”
　Ulsan manager Kim Ho Gon commented, “We played well but couldn’t score on the chances we had. We couldn’t cope with the offense of our opponents.”
Hiroshima captain Sato said, “We wanted to get a result as we knew finishing fifth or sixth would make a big difference to us as we were playing in Japan.
“We couldn’t reach the semifinals, but still showed our brand of football on this world stage. We have gained confidence that we will be able to do well in the ACL next year if we play like we did today.”
Nishikawa commented, “I didn’t want to lose today as it was a Japan-Korea matchup. I hope we can do well next year and come back to this tournament.”

12/12/12

Football , Japan

Japan's first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. Although this result earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its growth and Japan would not qualify for the FIFA World Cup until 30 years later.
In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J. League, partly to raise the sport's profile and to strengthen the national team program. With the launch of the new league in 1993, interest in football and the national team grew.
However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 FIFA World Cup after failing to beat Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the Agony of Doha.
The nation's first ever FIFA World Cup appearance was in 1998, where they lost all three matches. Japan's first two fixtures went 1–0 in favor of Argentina and Croatia, despite playing well in both games. Their campaign ended with an unexpected 2–1 defeat to rank outsiders Jamaica.
Four years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with South Korea. Despite being held to a 2–2 draw by Belgium in their opening game, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over Russia and a 2–0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the Round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey.
On June 8, 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the Round of 16 after finishing the group without a win, losing to Australia 1–3, drawing Croatia 0–0 and losing to Brazil 1–4.
Japan has had considerably more success in the Asian Cup, taking home the winner's trophy in four of the last six finals, in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. Their principal continental rivals are South Korea, followed by Saudi Arabia, and most recently Australia.
Japan is the only team from outside the Americas to participate in the Copa América, having been invited in 1999 and 2011.
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1–0 away. Japan was put in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon. Japan won its opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup defeating Cameroon 1–0 but subsequently lost to the Netherlands 0-1 before defeating Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay. In the first knockout round Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.
After the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by former Juventus and AC Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as one of their best ever results - a 1–0 victory over Argentina.
At the start of 2011 Japan participated in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph.
Japan then started their road to World Cup 2014 Brazil with numerous qualifiers, throughout they suffered only one loss to Uzbekistan, and a pair of draws against Iceland and Australia, but picking up several wins, afterwards on October 12, Japan picked up a historic 1-0 victory over France, a team they had never before defeated.

Japan