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Singing in the rain Nakata lifts Japan into Confederations Cup final
Updated: Thursday June 07, 2001 8:14 AM
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) -- Hidetoshi Nakata took the bounce out of the Socceroos, scoring the lone goal and commanding the surprising Japanese to a 1-0 victory over Australia on Thursday and into the finals of the Confederations Cup. The AS Roma midfielder seemed to be everywhere on the rain-soaked pitch -- putting order in the midfield, launching counterstrikes with his team a man down and making solo runs through the Aussie defense to test goalie Mark Schwarzer. Three minutes from halftime, Nakata's free kick from the half-moon mark broke through the wall and skidded between Schwarzer and defender Kevin Muscat, propelling Japan into Sunday's final against world champion France or four-time World Cup winner Brazil. The Aussies, who controlled much of the game but failed to capitalize on their chances, go to the consolation match. "This is a wonderful moment," said Japan's French coach Phillipe Troussier. "Whether we play Brazil or France, it will be a great symbol of our development." At the starting whistle the skies opened, signaling the beginning of Japan's rainy season. The 80,000-seat Yokohama International stadium was barely half full, but the fans who braved the rain sang, chanted and drummed happily through the downpour. The Aussies started cautiously, with lone forward David Zdrilic in front of a five-man midfield. But with captain Paul Okon distributing the offense, the Aussies settled in and took their incisive passing game to their hosts. And it was the Socceroos that had the first serious threat. At 22 minutes, Zdrilic collected a rebound off a corner kick and whipped in a volley that goalie Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi dived to knock wide with his fingertips. Every Japanese play seemed to go through Nakata, who got little help from teammates. But the sloppy pitch was more of a detriment to the quick-passing game of the Socceroos. "We like to play it behind them, but the ball kept skidding out," said Zdrilic, who started in place of the suspended Clayton Zane. Zdrilic nearly put the Aussies on the board in the 37th minute, when he raced up the right side, cut inside his defender and sent a low drive to the near corner, but Kawaguchi made the sprawling save. Then it was Steve Corica's turn, firing a point-blank shot that Kawaguchi blocked and sending a venomous header across the goal that caught the keeper on his off-foot, but the ball capriciously missed the far post. In the 42nd minute, blond-haired striker Takayuki Suzuki was decked near the penalty area. Nakata's seeing-eye kick was deflected by Muscat on the line but still found the back of the net to make it 1-0 lead. Zrdilic had a last chance at the half, but his deflected shot floated wide of the upper corner. In the 56th minute, Suzuki, the hero of Japan's 2-0 win over Cameroon, was red-carded for elbowing Tony Popovic. But the loss of the striker didn't affect Japan's balance -- and they had Nakata. In the 63rd minute, he cut from right to left and fired just high from the top of the penalty area. A minute later, it was Nakata weaving through three defenders and whipping in a low drive, forcing Schwarzer to make the diving stop. Almost single-handedly carrying the offense, Nakata streaked in on a breakaway, out-raced the defense and chipped a shot over the charging Schwarzer, but it lazily floated inches wide. In the 83rd minute, Nakata sent Junichi Inamoto up the left side against an exposed Aussie defense. His cross found Hiroaki Morishima alone in front of the goal, but the shot went just high. Still, the Socceroos had superior ball control and found a path on the left side of the Japanese defense. Strikers Archie Thompson and Mile Sterjovski, who came on in the second half, created chances but the Aussie front line couldn't finish. "We had our chances," said Aussie coach Frank Farina. "At this level of football, if you don't make your chances you won't win games." The exasperation with Nakata cost the Aussies fullback Craig Moore, who was shown the red card after a rough tackle in the 88th minute. A minute from time, Nakata fired a long cross in from the right side for a diving header by Morishima. Schwarzer made an acrobatic save on pure reflex to tip it over the bar. "I hope they go on and win the final," said a gracious Okon. "Technically they are a very, very good team. They can compete with European teams." Lineups: Japan: Yoshikatsu Kawagushi, Naoki Matsuda, Ryuzo Morioka (Kenichi Uemura, 23), Junichi Inamoto, Hidetoshi Nakata, Akinori Nishizawa (Hiroaki Morishima, 80), Koji Nakata, Kazuyuki Toda, Yasuhiri Hato, Shinji Ono (Toshihiro Hattori, 55) and Takayuki Suzuki. Australia: Mark Schwarzer, Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Paulo Okon, Tony Vidmar, Tony Popovic, Stan Lazaridis, David Zdrilic (Archie Thompson, 72), Marco Bresciano (Mile Sterjovski, 62) Steve Corica and Scott Chipperfield (John Aloisi, 62)
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