Shinji Okazaki and Tatsuya Tanaka lead Blue Samurai to victory

Takeshi Okada’s valiant decision to field an entire J-League lineup pulled through as in-front of our 30,000 supporters the Blue Samurai defeated Yemen 2-1 in the opening match of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifying.

Prior to the match, Japan’s manager had taken a very aggressive stance in utilizing an entire lineup from the J-League, given intent on building team play in a longer training camp as well as injuries and placing greater responsibility in domestic development.

The Blue Samurai came to win from the onset and seven minutes after the start when Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale) passed the ball in short off the corner before Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Reds Diamonds) cross to Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse) allowed for the close range score. However from that early effort, both sides prohibited each other to enter the final third and most of the play was from box to box. Kengo Nakamura’s golden delivery midway of the half nearly produced the second goal and his corner swung in to Takeshi Aoki (Kashima Antlers) but his header went above the bar.

However after the break Yemen fought back Ali Al Sasi’s set piece was headed in by Zaher Farid two minutes after the start. Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Ichihara Chiba) entered the match and came close to finding the winning goal almost immediately however five minutes later when Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse) flicked on a corner to Tatsuya Tanaka, who then tucked the ball into the net six minutes after the hour.

Japan had further chances to score but couldn’t break through again and the match ended with a 2-1 victory.

Takeshi Okada sung the praise of his new recruits:

“Our players showed their strong willingness and high level of motivation for the game.

“That made them lose their pace in the first-half at some points but because of their high motivation, they were able to produce a result.

“At the same time, I’m sure they have learned how hard it is to play an international game. On top of that, they have collected the win. I’m grateful to them.”