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Zico still winless at home Japan ends Kirin Cup with Paraguay drawPosted: Wednesday June 11, 2003 9:22 AMUpdated: Wednesday June 11, 2003 3:56 PM SAITAMA, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan were held to a goalless draw by Paraguay in the Kirin Cup on Wednesday as they continued to struggle in the build-up to this month's Confederations Cup. Japan have won just once in seven games under Brazilian coach Zico, who had warned his players they must beat Paraguay after losing 1-0 to South Korea and 4-1 to Argentina in the past two weeks. Striker Yoshito Okubo did head past goalkeeper Ricardo Tavarelli in the 76th minute but was ruled to have been offside, much to the disappointment of the 60,000 crowd in Saitama. Brazilian-born Alex, playing in an experimental left back position for Japan, almost forged the opening in the 52nd minute, producing an exquisite turn inside the box only for his shot to flash just wide of the post. Five minutes later, Paraguay midfielder Carlos Bonet came close with a clever chip from 25 meters after spotting goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki off his line. The closest Japan came to scoring in a mediocre first half was when Paraguay defender Ruben Maldonado almost headed a Nobuhisa Yamada cross into his own goal in the 34th minute, but Tavarelli acrobatically kept the ball out. Gilt-edged chance Japan made nine changes to the team thrashed by Argentina in Osaka and should have gone ahead in the sixth minute when midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura missed a gilt-edged chance. German-based striker Naohiro Takahara did well to pull the ball back from the left but Nakamura fired straight at Tavarelli from close range with the goal at his mercy. Nakamura went close with a speculative effort from 30 meters in the 37th minute, but Japan were again short of ideas in attack against a Paraguay team who drew 0-0 with Euro 2004 hosts Portugal last week. "We were mentally stronger than against Argentina and played a much tighter match," said Zico. "The new players who came in showed no fear so we will take this as a positive going into the Confederations Cup." However, Japan playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata disagreed. "The result was basically meaningless. We were hoping for a victory to take to France," said the Parma midfielder. Japan are drawn alongside hosts France, Colombia and New Zealand in Group A of the June 18-29 tournament. "I am a bit disappointed with the result. Paraguay can play better than that," said Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz. "I don't want to blame jet-leg or a lack of preparation time. You must give credit to Japan, who kept us under constant pressure."
SummaryJapan 0 Paraguay 0 - result Kirin Cup soccer tournament Attendance: 59,891 Teams: Japan (4-4-2): 1-Seigo Narazaki; 22-Nobuhisa Yamada, 21-Keisuke Tsuboi, 17-Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, 14-Alex; 7-Hidetoshi Nakata (captain), 15-Takashi Fukunishi (16-Koji Nakata 46), 19-Yasuhito Endo, 10-Shunsuke Nakamura; 20-Naohiro Takahara, 27-Yoshito Okubo Paraguay (4-4-2): 12-Ricardo Tavarelli (captain); 2-Ruben Maldonado, 3-Julio Caceres, 14-Paulo Silva, 5-Delio Toledo; 6-Jorge Britez (18-Oscar Sanabria 46), 16-Carlos Bonet, 10-Gustavo Morinigo (17-Pedro Irala 63), 8-Angel Ortiz; 7-Nelson Cuevas (19-Dante Lopez 85), 9-Juan Samudio (11-Fredy Bareiro 58) Referee: Mike Riley (England)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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