tough defending marks scoreless draw against Australia

The clash between Japan and Australia for 2010 World Cup South Africa in Yokohama ended in a scoreless draw. With the result the Socceroos maintain their two point advantage over the Blue Samurai in Group 1 of the AFC zone.

A packed International Stadium saw Japan go on the assault early but Pim Verbeek’s plan to choke out any attack was obvious as the hosts were unable to break through Mark Schwarzer’s (Fulham) goal and excluding set pieces by Shunsuke Nakamura, the Blue Samurai attack was tepid. For the majority of the first half the Socceroos dominated possession in the midfield but were not pushing forward and were content grinding down the match and patiently waiting for an opportunity. Other than Tim Cahill (Everton) drive in added time from twenty-plus meters, Ryota Tsuzuki (Urawa Red Diamonds) was undisturbed in the match.

At the restart Japan slowly started to be aggressive in the attack with the most worthwhile assault coming seven minutes past the hour off Shunsuke Nakamura’s (Celtic) well weighted through ball to Yoshito Okubo (VfL Wolfsburg) but his effort was easily saved. Ten minutes later the Blue Samurai had a chance to take the lead but Yuto Nagatomo’s (F.C. Tokyo) cross was nodded over the bar by Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Red Diamonds). Following that effort, Australia closed down the match defensively and it ended with a 0-0 draw.