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Winning start Co-host Japan beats Canada, 3-0
Updated: Thursday May 31, 2001 1:57 PM
NIIGATA, Japan (AP) -- Three second-half strikes lifted host Japan to a hard-fought 3-0 win Thursday over Canada in their Confederations Cup opener. Until midfielder Shinji Ono curled in a free-kick from just outside the penalty area in the 58th minute, Canada had looked the more dangerous of the two sides, even though Japan dominated possession from the beginning. Sloppy passing in front of the goal area and lackluster play by Japan's superstar, Hidetoshi Nakata, gave plenty of opportunity to the Canadians to launch blistering counters in the first period. The Canadians created several scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes, forcing Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi into a series of superb saves. But the Japanese came alive in the second period, wearing down the Canadians with their relentless attacking style. "The first half was a little bit split, and in the second half, we changed the organization," said Phlippe Troussier, the Japanese coach. "After the first goal, the situation was completely different. We got better confidence and we took some risks." After Canadian skipper Jason deVos tripped up veteran striker Masashi Nakayama outside the penalty area 13 minutes after halftime, Ono curled in a perfect right-foot shot into the left corner of the net. Three minutes later, forward Akinori Nishizawa, who has spent most of this season on the bench with Spanish first division side Espanyol, headed in a cross from Hiroaki Morishima. The chance was created when veteran striker Masahi Nakayama charged down the left side and sent a blistering pass to Hiroaki Morishima, who lobbed the ball to Nishizawa. In the 89th minute, Ono fed Morishima a ball just outside the square and Morishima flicked the ball past Canadian goalkeeper Craig Forrest. "I am happy I was selected to the national team, and I just wanted to do my best," Ono said. "I am glad I did well." The win put Japan atop Group B ahead of Brazil, which beat Cameroon 2-0 earlier in the day at Ibaraki. Canada's best chances came in the latter part of the first half as Canada's offense came alive after the visitors spent most of the period defending and looking for counter chances. In the 28th minute, midfielder Davide Xausa volleyed a powerful shot off a headed pass from skipper Jason Devos, forcing Kawaguchi into a reflex save. Five minutes later, midfielder Jim Brennen roared into the penalty area from the left side and lobbed a cross over a charging Kawaguchi that just barely missed Bent. In the 41st minute Kawaguchi again played hero, punching out a powerful bouncing header by deVos in front of goals. In the next Group B preliminaries Saturday, Japan and Cameroon play in Niigata, while Canada travels to Ibaraki to play Brazil. In Group A openers Wednesday in South Korea, France trounced South Korea 5-0 and Australia scored a surprise 2-0 win over Mexico. The top two from each group advance into next week's semifinals. The final is June 10. Lineups: Japan: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Captain), Kenichi Uemura (sub Nakayama 37th minute), Ryuzo Morioka (Captain), Junichi Inamoto, Teruyoshi Ito (Tomokazu Myojin), Kazuyuki Toda, Koji Nakata, Shinji Ono, Hidetoshi Nakata (sub Atsuhiro Miura 81st), Hiroaki Morishima, Akinori Nishizawa. Canada: Craig Forrest, Mark Watson, Jason deVos (Captain) (sub NSaliwa 63rd), Daniel Imhof, Jim Brennan, Paul Stalteri, Jason Bent, Davide Xausa, Carl Fletcher, Paul Peschisolido, Kevin McKenna.
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