The end of the road…

Cheers,

Hey, i'm brazilian and I think Japan should be proud of their team. I think quite impressive the thecnical progress you made in such short period of time.

The matches I watched from the japanese team in this cup were all fun to watch, you got really talentend players, you're playing thecnicaly nice and your choach put up a well organized team. Japan is playing the football we south-american like to watch!

Unfortunately, it wasn't this time for Japan, when it comes to penalty shoots, you have to count on your luck, that's the true. What you need now is to support your team, including Yuichi Komano. Stars like Zico, Platini e Baggio all lost decisive penalty shoots in their carreers. How I said, when it comes to penalty shoots you gotta be lucky!

Japan should leave this tournament proud. I have never watched the Japanese except in the friendlies against the Netherlands before the WC but I must say I was totally impressed with your performance during this WC. You guys are very technical, have a stingy defense and are very disciplined, rarely making any mistakes; in a nutshell what the nation of Japan has always been about.
You were the equal of Paraguay(winner of Group E), and troubled my Netherlands.
If only you had a clinical striker and created more scoring opportunities, you could have gone all the way to the Semi-Finals. Japan and South-Korea have changed the way I view Asian national teams, and I have only high praise for what you have achieved in such a short time span(a decade).
Kudos to Japan and I look forward to watching your players shine again in international tournaments.

It's a honorable way to go out (unlike England for example). You should be proud of this team, because they played well and none of your opponents outplayed you. It took Holland a Sneijder moment of magic to win and Paraguay didn't look like they were ever going to score against you. I don't think I need to mention the games against Cameroon and Denmark. Japan has surprised everyone and only bad luck kept you out of the quarter finals.

Be proud!

Japan played such a beautiful style with so much class and made it worthwhile watching . I don't kno wwho to support now

Well it was heartbreaking, but I must say I saw it coming.

What really matters with this kind of game is the mental side of things. Japan fought well but I felt that they were more cautious, tentative this time. They didn't have the abandon that they had during Denmark game. I do think it plays on you a bit, psychologically, to be on a turf further than your predecessors. Both sides played not to lose and the end result is a penalty shootout.

For once I agreed with one of Okada-san's moves, when he subbed Kengo in for Abe. That was a clear indication that they needed to be more offensive. But when he put in Tamada instead of Morimoto at the end, I interpreted that as the “limit” for him — I think if Japan was losing he would have thrown Morimoto in. I suspect Morimoto was his “desperation” move — and he went with more seasoned, balanced Tamada. Rather late, and a safe choice at that. And it didn't create an impact. I think that's what Okada-san means when he commented that he just didn't desire to win strongly enough.

The penalties, too, I don't chalk it up entirely to luck. When I saw how relaxed the other goalie looked as opposed to how tense and nervous Kawashima looked, I sensed that things wouldn't turn out well. Kawashima's efforts were aggressive, but after Komada missed I felt that he lost it and started guessing instead of trusting his instincts in reacting. Penalties are a test of mentality — the sides that can stay calm and confident wins. Kawashima was OK throughout the game (lucky that all shots flew to him) but this was one instance I think where more experienced Naruzaki may have been better.

Over all, I do think Paraguay deserved the win. They created more threats and Japan's offense simply didn't have enough creativity. That's not to say Japan played poorly — they did what they could to their fullest extent. It was certainly an easier loss to accept than the Turkey game in '02. The players gave their all, but Paraguay did have stronger will to win at the end and were also more experienced at playing at this level (imagine having to play Brazil and Argentina twice each EVERY WC qualification!). Japan's soccer history is still shallow compared to that, and this was certainly a step forward.

For one, I hope the collective, solid defense will emerge as the signature Japanese style. I don't find that boring at all — I think it's a fine foundation on which to build more creative offense.

I'm grateful to the team for going beyond our expectations, making this WC much funner than I thought it was going to be!

Otsukare sama deshita.

Hi! I´m Peruvian and i was a fan of your team in this WC, i almost cried at the end of the game
you have really good players and i can see the evolution of the Japan team, compared to the other participations
Be all proud of your team and players, they play with heart and honor,
Penalty shoots are just luck i think…

thank u Japan for bring us a very good game

AIDAN, YOUR BLOG BECOMING A JOKE AS PEOPLE LIKE HDOTPDOT ARE TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY. IF THEY AND YOU WANT ONLY CUTESEY AND NICE WORDS, THEN YOU SHOULD MAKE THAT CLEAR TO POSTERS.

OTHER NATIONS' BLOG, YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE MAKING CRITICAL AND VALID DISCUSSIONS, BUT HERE, IT SEEMS MORONS LIKE HDOTPDOT MAKE CUTESEY COMMENTS WITH NO SUBSTANCE AND NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOCCER AND EXPECTS PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME (EVEN AFTER THEIR TEAM HAS LOST AND FAILED TO LIVE UP TO THE PROMISE OF THE BEST 4).

TO HDOTPDOT:

SCREW YOU AND YOUR FASCISM MAN. AIDAN DID NOT CREATE THIS BLOG ONLY FOR YOU, ASSHOLE. IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO KILLED THE JAPANESE NATIONAL TEAM WITH YOUR USELESS GAMBARE BLIND SUPPORT WITHOUT ADDRESSING REAL ISSUES.

I NEVER ATTACK YOUR UNSUBSTANTIAL HELLO KITTY COMMENTS, SO DON'T BE A FASCIST AND TELL OTHER PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY.

SURE, THE TEAM DID THEIR BEST, BUT IS BEST THE SAME AS THE BOASTING AND PROMISE OF THE SEMI BEST FOUR? NO , IT ISN'T. BEST 4 IS UNREALISTIC TO START WITH, BUT SINCE JAPAN STUCK WITH THAT AND INGRAINED THAT IN OUR MINDS, WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO ATTACK THAT MENTALITY NOW…

SO DON'T EXPECT ONLY CONGRATS. THERE ARE SUCH PEOPLE AS CRITICAL FANS, WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO AIR THEIR FRUSTRATIONS AND VIEWS OF THE GAME, UNLIKE YOU, A CASUAL MORON FAN.

YOU SHOULD WORK FOR HELLO-KITTY, MAN. IF THAT IS WHAT THIS COLUMN IS TO BE ABOUT IN YOUR PATHETIC EYES: CUTESY SHIT AND BANNING ALL REAL DISCUSSIONS.

———-
REPOST:
TO HDOTPDOT:

YEAH, RESORT TO VIOLENCE AND THREATEN ME. SEE IF YOU GOT THE GUTS TO DO SO WHEN YOU SEE ME. I CAN MEET YOU ANYWERE IN TOKYO.
MY ADVICE TO YOU: don't be RUDE. don't be a FASCIST. you are a moron. too much fantasizing and no real discussions but “japan did good, japan did fantastic,” no wonder we failed so miserably. COME ON, YOU PEOPLE, BE A REALIST. WE CANNOT JUST SUPPORT AND SUPPORT WITHOUT REAL DISCUSSIONS AND COMPLAINTS. OKADA CHANGED HIS SYSTEM BECAUSE PRECISELY OF THE COMPLAINTS.

YOU GOT THE GUTS TO SUPPORT THE TEAM LIKE THE REST OF US, THEN HAVE THE GUTS TO FACE THE FACTS. OR ELSE, WE ARE ALL SUPPORTING BLINDLY A TEAM THAT HAS NONSENSE (ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CLAIMED AND BOASTED AND PROMISED US THAT IT COULD REACH THE LAST 4). SO BLAME OKADA, NOT US VOCAL FANS.

SO, CONGRATULATE WHAT??? THEY DIDN'T REACH THE FINAL 4 AS WAS PROMISED. GO BLAME OKADA, NOT ME. YOU GOT GUTS, YOU FACE THE FACTS.

WE HAVE JUST THE SAME RIGHT AS YOU TO AIR OUR GRIEVANCES.

AND FOR YOU OTHERS YOU SAY JAPAN HAD BETTER CHANCES, EVEN THE COMMENTATORS CONCLUDED PARAGUAY WAS A NOTCH AT LEAST BETTER AND THEY SHOULD HAVE SCORED. THAT MEANS QUALITY OF THEIR CHANCES.

THIS BLOG BECOMINING A JOKE, AIDAN, WITH WITLESS PEOLE LIKE THIS GUY WHO CAN'T THINK AND WHO ATTACK PEOPLE FOR AIRING PROBLEMS WITH THE TEAM.

OTHER NATIONS BLOG YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF REAL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS, BUT NOT HERE, WITH MORONS LIKE HDOTPDOT. WE LOST BECAUSE OF OKADA AND BRAINLESS FANS LIKE HDOTPDOT, WHO NOW TELLING THIS BLOG AND ME OUR GRIEVANCES MUST BEN CENSORED.

STOP BEING A FASCIST. THIS BLOG IS FOR ALL KINDS OF FANS AND REAL COMMENTS.

Thanks Aidan for your kind remarks on my page, the Paraguay blog. I knew this was going to be a difficult game for us. You were probably the least favored team in your group but you knocked out both Cameroon and Denmark, countries with greater football history, which counts. Any country that can do this becomes a feared opponent.

I think the experience of Japan in this World Cup is similar, though not as painful, as what we went through in 1998. Let me remind you we were eliminated with a golden goal of misery and pain. Such things only enrich you and make you stronger.

We were the more mature and experienced side today, which are the factors that allowed us to prevail.

Congratulations on your excellent run!

AIDAN: this is my last post. This blog is a total joke now because of these posters like that Hdotpdot dick. The team has lost and failed to live up to its big promise and boast of the best 4, and this dick telling me we can't air our frustrations and views or analysis of the game or of the team but instructs me to congratulate the team. What the hell is that?? This guy has not made any useful comment but made only hello-kitty comments, and nobody tells him to shut up. What the fuck? Double standards here? Thanks for the time, but this blog it seems belongs to fascist cowards like hdotpdot who can't face up to the facts. I am starting a new Japanese blog dedicated to Asian football.

Since your not going to read this, but if you do… chill. What I did was uncalled for and was just a spur of the moment. Express all you want. I was the one who told you to shut up, don't leave just because of me. Honest to God, you're more of a drama queen than I am. I had my rant but got over it, that was my opinion to you, it only took me to make you explode, geebs. Talk about anger management issues. I seriously thought you wouldn't take it to heart and would of simply just dismissed and thought it stupid. But my gosh, build a bridge and get over it.

Thanks for your support…Japan did so well to get this far – way further than any of us expected, and it's such a shame to go out in this way…

At least there is somebody that sees the light at the end of the tunnel. I agree, Paraguay were better than us to the extent of their quality of chances.
I can't discredit Japan, they lost, but they did what they could. We both saw that both teams were pretty nervous in the first half, I think Paraguay had more of a morale boost when their first opportunity came, but was then taken away from the japanese defending. I thought Japan weren't that confident coming into the game. They didn't seem like they believed that they could win.

Of course Japanese football needs to learn from their mistakes, but I'm happy that they made it that far, especially when it was on foreign soil.

As for the PK, I knew Eiji wasn't confident with PK, you can tell what he was thinking.

Thanks – spot on about the striker…the fact that Honda (an attacking midfielder) played up front for the whole tournament tells it's own story about that.

Very proud – thanks!

I think the Asian teams in general play in quite a classy way when compared to some others – less of the rolling around pretending to be hurt and all that. And they often pay with such energy – except when they run out of steam as happened today.

Spain for me from now on – it would be nice to get a new winner!

Thanks for your support of Japan – you weren't the only one a bit broken hearted at the end Damn those penalties!

This blog is for any and every opinion, so I'm sorry if you feel you should leave and would hope that you change your mind about that, but please don't resort to name calling and abuse.

I don't think anyone is telling anyone else what to say, but having a clash between negative and positive.

There is nothing wrong with disagreement on here – we all have our own opinions and of course these can be vastly different from watching the same game.

If that's what you wish to do that is your prerogative, but I'm sorry you feel that way and hope you change your mind.

I hardly think that the blog is a joke purely because some people have opposing opinions. Most of us were extremely critical of both the team and Okada prior to the World Cup – far from blindly supporting there was lots of criticism on here, from me as well as from many other posters.

But they did achieve far more than we expected, and achieved their best ever level in a World Cup – yes that fell short of the semi-final aim, which surely none of us really believed anyway, but still was far from being a failure.

Yes there are still many issues with the team, and Okada played quite negatively at times which can be a bit infuriating.

But if your view is that they didn't achieve what was promised, then that is fine – you have every right to share that opinion, as hdotpdot does with hers too.

Thanks Victor – and good luck against Spain…not an easy one at all!

No, Aidan you shouldn't be sorry, it is me who has to apologise, if it wasn't for me and my stupid spur of the moment rant, none of this would happen. I really did respect Toyoda. I agreed with him in the past, but the fact that he has been totally negative or what he calls as being realistic, just got the better of me, I just thought there was no point in criticising the team anymore because the squad was settled and what more was there to criticise, we criticised them for the same things over and over again, I just got sick of it. I didn't state it clearly in my previous post because I was just caught up with emotion. I apologise for the ruckus, I sincerely do. I am ashamed that I have let an insightful poster decide not to return. Again, I am greatly sorry.

well, I'm from Sweden, and we didn't even get in the WC this time, so I think Japan's accomplishment was great. Think of where they were in 1998. Okada surprised me the most, in some ways.. I thought he was a bit of a sad joke before, but he has turned out to be quite a good manager.. his strategy in the group stage was exactly right. They reverted to the cautious form of old against Paraguay.. didn't gamble and throw more men forward… could be they were overwhelmed by the sense of occasion. Best part is there is a younger generation of talents coming up to replace the old stars. (France, England, take note…)

My Brother… I'm Indonesian, I'm proud to have Asian representative like Japan..
Japan Team show us the discipline, brave and never give up for fight..
Keep on that spirit BLUE SAMURAI.. and my messages to Yuichi Komano San.. please do not feeling guilty because it is not your fault…
Sometime we have to trust Luck Factor…

BRAVO BLUE SAMURAI!!!!!

No shame in losing like Japan did – The players and coach did the country proud. Well played, Japan. Looking forward to seeing you again in 2014

And let's hope that Japan can consolidate this progress with a good showing in the Asian Cup and building again towards the next World Cup.

You're far from being the only one who thought Okada was a joke before the tournament. He still has his faults of course, but did find a way to get more from this team than most felt was possible.

It's a shame they were more cautious against Paraguay, but you may well be right about the sense of occasion – the fear of losing, or of making a mistake, takes hold of many teams and looks like that influenced Japan's tactics yesterday. Let's hope they continue this progress over the next 4 year cycle and if they find themselves in the last 16 again perhaps they will approach it differently.

Don't worry hp…let's just say that the team had just been beaten and nobody was in the best state of mind!

Hopefully toyoda will be back as his views did offer a balance to some more optimistic posters, although often negative at times. And of course your views are just as welcome….Don't you go disappearing on me too though!

Very good summing up Ari – the fact that Japan made it this far, but ultimately fell short is still a valuable experience they can draw on in the future – the young players can anyway.

They aren't used to such levels as you say, so more experience is needed, but that's always going to be a problem for Japan being located where it is.

I think several of us feared the worst in the shoot out as Kawashima, but it's of course heart breaking nonetheless.

Okada made some offensive changes but as you say, not enough for a team really going for it – the fear was still there of course. but who is to say they'd have prevailed with a more positive approach – the gaps left behind may have given paraguay more opportunity too…we'll never know.

Whoever takes over now I hope they can keep this progress going and build on it. It's based on fairly flimsy foundations at the moment, given how bad the team were only a few weeks ago, but they got it (mostly) right when it really mattered.

I'm now looking forward to the Asian Cup in January with optimism rather than fearing an East Asian Champs style disappointment. I hope the new coach finds the best use for Honda and builds the team around his ever emerging talent.

That's the trouble with getting as far as you've ever done before – you struggle to believe you can get further, which is why we often see the same countries reaching the final again and again – they believe they can do it because it's been done before.

For Japan though to have come so close surely tells them that they really could have gone further and have no reason to believe that they couldn't be in such a position again and make it through…I hope so anyway!

Cheers,

My english is not so good, so sorry for that.

I understand the frustration of some comenter, you were promised a place between the 4 so anything but that looks like a loss. But let me say something, here in Brazil when it comes to world cups anything but the first place looks like a loss, but that doesn't prevent me from stating that our team in the 1982's cup was one wich makes me really proud. That team didn't win the world cup, but that's football.

I'm more proud of that 82's team then our 98's finalist team. Sometimes you dont get as far as you want in a cup, but the football is honorable. And it's like chupp said, you got out of the cup in a honoured way.

Maybe you see a lot of things that has to be improved, but you may be loosing the sight of what you already acomplished. Your team played well, mate. IMHO, this is the best national team you had EVER.

To be proud and support your national team for its good football (even if it didnt win what has been promised) is not to be in a hello kitty position. For me is a lot more decent atittude than to be a whiner who can only show frustration.

A few more pictures added to the main article…

And the luck was with Paraguay today – they held their nerve very well – unfortunately!

This team certainly went beyond realistic expectations, other than Okada's top 4 claims, and achieved as much (or 30 minutes more!) than the 2002 team which had the huge benefits of home advantage and being seeded in the group stage.

Very proud of how well they've competed, and what they've achieved. They showed the skills and style when they could and the win over Denmark especially is particularly memorable.

AIDAN, YOUR BLOG BECOMING A JOKE AS PEOPLE LIKE HDOTPDOT ARE TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY. IF THEY AND YOU WANT ONLY CUTESEY AND NICE WORDS, THEN YOU SHOULD MAKE THAT CLEAR TO POSTERS.

OTHER NATIONS' BLOG, YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE MAKING CRITICAL AND VALID DISCUSSIONS, BUT HERE, IT SEEMS MORONS LIKE HDOTPDOT MAKE CUTESEY COMMENTS WITH NO SUBSTANCE AND NO KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOCCER AND EXPECTS PEOPLE TO DO THE SAME (EVEN AFTER THEIR TEAM HAS LOST AND FAILED TO LIVE UP TO THE PROMISE OF THE BEST 4).

TO HDOTPDOT:

SCREW YOU AND YOUR FASCISM MAN. AIDAN DID NOT CREATE THIS BLOG ONLY FOR YOU, ASSHOLE. IT IS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO KILLED THE JAPANESE NATIONAL TEAM WITH YOUR USELESS GAMBARE BLIND SUPPORT WITHOUT ADDRESSING REAL ISSUES.

I NEVER ATTACK YOUR UNSUBSTANTIAL HELLO KITTY COMMENTS, SO DON'T BE A FASCIST AND TELL OTHER PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY.

SURE, THE TEAM DID THEIR BEST, BUT IS BEST THE SAME AS THE BOASTING AND PROMISE OF THE SEMI BEST FOUR? NO , IT ISN'T. BEST 4 IS UNREALISTIC TO START WITH, BUT SINCE JAPAN STUCK WITH THAT AND INGRAINED THAT IN OUR MINDS, WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO ATTACK THAT MENTALITY NOW…

SO DON'T EXPECT ONLY CONGRATS. THERE ARE SUCH PEOPLE AS CRITICAL FANS, WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO AIR THEIR FRUSTRATIONS AND VIEWS OF THE GAME, UNLIKE YOU, A CASUAL MORON FAN.

YOU SHOULD WORK FOR HELLO-KITTY, MAN. IF THAT IS WHAT THIS COLUMN IS TO BE ABOUT IN YOUR PATHETIC EYES: CUTESY SHIT AND BANNING ALL REAL DISCUSSIONS.

———-
REPOST:
TO HDOTPDOT:

YEAH, RESORT TO VIOLENCE AND THREATEN ME. SEE IF YOU GOT THE GUTS TO DO SO WHEN YOU SEE ME. I CAN MEET YOU ANYWERE IN TOKYO.
MY ADVICE TO YOU: don't be RUDE. don't be a FASCIST. you are a moron. too much fantasizing and no real discussions but “japan did good, japan did fantastic,” no wonder we failed so miserably. COME ON, YOU PEOPLE, BE A REALIST. WE CANNOT JUST SUPPORT AND SUPPORT WITHOUT REAL DISCUSSIONS AND COMPLAINTS. OKADA CHANGED HIS SYSTEM BECAUSE PRECISELY OF THE COMPLAINTS.

YOU GOT THE GUTS TO SUPPORT THE TEAM LIKE THE REST OF US, THEN HAVE THE GUTS TO FACE THE FACTS. OR ELSE, WE ARE ALL SUPPORTING BLINDLY A TEAM THAT HAS NONSENSE (ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CLAIMED AND BOASTED AND PROMISED US THAT IT COULD REACH THE LAST 4). SO BLAME OKADA, NOT US VOCAL FANS.

SO, CONGRATULATE WHAT??? THEY DIDN'T REACH THE FINAL 4 AS WAS PROMISED. GO BLAME OKADA, NOT ME. YOU GOT GUTS, YOU FACE THE FACTS.

WE HAVE JUST THE SAME RIGHT AS YOU TO AIR OUR GRIEVANCES.

AND FOR YOU OTHERS YOU SAY JAPAN HAD BETTER CHANCES, EVEN THE COMMENTATORS CONCLUDED PARAGUAY WAS A NOTCH AT LEAST BETTER AND THEY SHOULD HAVE SCORED. THAT MEANS QUALITY OF THEIR CHANCES.

THIS BLOG BECOMINING A JOKE, AIDAN, WITH WITLESS PEOLE LIKE THIS GUY WHO CAN'T THINK AND WHO ATTACK PEOPLE FOR AIRING PROBLEMS WITH THE TEAM.

OTHER NATIONS BLOG YOU SEE ALL KINDS OF REAL COMMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS, BUT NOT HERE, WITH MORONS LIKE HDOTPDOT. WE LOST BECAUSE OF OKADA AND BRAINLESS FANS LIKE HDOTPDOT, WHO NOW TELLING THIS BLOG AND ME OUR GRIEVANCES MUST BEN CENSORED.

STOP BEING A FASCIST. THIS BLOG IS FOR ALL KINDS OF FANS AND REAL COMMENTS.

BBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and
snakes, an aeroplane and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn – world
serves its own needs, dummy serve your own needs. Feed
it off an aux speak, grunt, no, strength, the Ladder
start to clatter with fear fight down height. Wire
in a fire, representing seven games, and a government
for hire at a combat site. Left of west and coming in
a hurry with the furys breathing down your neck. Team
by team reporters baffled, trumped, tethered cropped.
Look at that low playing. Fine, then. Uh oh,
overflow, population, common food, but it'll do to Save
yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs,
listen to your heart bleed dummy with the rapture and
the revered and the right, right. You vitriolic,
patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty
psyched.

It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it and I feel fine.

Six o'clock – TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign
towers. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself
churn. Lock it in, uniforming, book burning, blood
letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.
Light a candle, light a motive. Step down, step down.
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means no
fear cavalier. Renegade steer clear! A tournament,
tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions,
offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it and I feel fine.

The other night I dreamt of knives, continental
drift divide. Mountains sit in a line, Leonard
Bernstein. Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester
Bangs. Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You
symbiotic, patriotic, slam bug net, right? Right.

It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it.
It's the end of the road as we know it and I feel
fine…fine…

I've always liked your humour did you know that

Riveting tale, chap

R.E.M? xD

Japan will meet Paraguay again in the Copa América Final next year!

For some reason it was the first thing I thought of when I read the article title (interchange world and road ofc XD) and the chorus is quite fitting in a way >.>

Took me a while to figure out it was that song, I was like, why is this so familiar,and then “BINGO!” REM!

That's PK thing is exactly what I thought too. Kawashima was good for the first couple of shots, he didn't try to guess where the guy was gonnsa shoot unlike the paraguayn keeper who was actually worse but had just luck this time that japanese guy missed. Istead Kawashima relied on his reflexes and was actually quite close to stop the paraguayn shots. After Japan missed first time Kawashima started to guess instead of having faith on himself, he could have saved EASILY one of the penalties which went right to the middle had he been keeping relying on his reflexes and not jumping out of the ball by guessing where the guy was gonnsa shoot.

Thank you Japan, and congratulations! You've made
this WC fun and beautiful to watch with your clean
honest football, leaving your very hearts on the pitch.
The game against Denmark has got to be one of the
most exciting in the entire WC. Given your short football
history, it's remarkable how you managed to kick far
more experienced teams out of the tournament, and i like
it that the Japanese players don't resort to cheap tricks
(stage-acting, kicking legs) to win an advantage.
The way things came to an end was heart-breaking; it
pained me to tears to watch Japan go like that! What i
would've given to see the team in the quater finals!
For your neat tactical organization, for playing heart and
soul, and for your polite respectful behaviour on the pitch,
Japan, you're the great winners of this WC!!
To Yuichi Komano:
Thank you for standing there all by yourself facing the goal
in front of the whole world, for kicking the ball as best you
could!
I myself could never stand in front of the entire world and
take a penalty kick. But you did.
Don't worry about the result. Many of us, Japanese and
non-Japanese, who love your team and your country, are
sad today, but nobody, absolutely nobody blames you.
Penalty shootouts are utterly unpredictable. Anything can
happen. What matters is that you tried.
Great job, Japan!!

Hey Aidan,

I need to say kudos to you for running an excellent blog and being a good moderator of discussions. Your blog made my WC experience funner, too.

I also wanted to clarify that by saying “I saw it coming” I didn't mean I predicted a loss before the game — I just sensed it in the first few minutes of the game.

It's funny how experience counts, when players come and go — but apparently it does. This is Paraguay's 4th shot at Final 8. This is Japan's 2nd. Paraguay's been involved with WC since its beginning. Japan only became a “regular” a little over 10 years ago. So, being there twice hasn't been enough of a build-up to move up to the next level. Whatever lessons we must learn at this level, we must learn, before we can move up. The more times you get tripped up by an obstacle, the stronger your resolve to overcome it. That's what I think needs to happen — Japan just needs to keep challenging, keep getting to WC and keep getting out of the group stage, have more shots at Final 8. Next time, we'll have a stronger desire that says “we're gonna make it THIS TIME.”

I live in US so I didn't know this, but in Japan apparently there was a huge “show your blue” campaign on the game day, when everybody wore something blue. I cried when I read that. That kind of unity and support doesn't happen every day, even every WC. This team's unity inspired that kind of support, and for that I feel grateful. This was a good team.

Japanese has its strengths. They can run and they can follow orders, even very detailed and demanding ones. They practice long and work hard. They have a great “for the team” spirit — it's built into the culture. They are not so great with individualism or “think-on-foot” decisiveness. And it'll take more than pliers to make us taller and burlier.

I really hope our next coach is one who really understands us for what we are, and create a team that builds on our strengths. I'm secretly hoping Dunga may be up for it? His Brazil's resolve to win has been impressive, and they are cohesive, disciplined and mercilessly strong…. Not sure if it's likely, but Dunga played some years in Japan, so I expect him to have understanding and liking of our little country…. Not sure if it's likely, but one is free to hope and dream, right?

I have no idea what a hello-kitty comment is, but I don't have any problem with what she posts.

And please keep us updated about your blog.

I've read all your articles up to now, but this one might just be too painful to read.

I swear I've never been so emotionally scarred by a football match before. In 1998 I was too young to understand. In 2002 I was too young to care. In 2006 I was just pissed off. But this one hurts so much.

I'm a japanese football fan and I just felt disappointed at the coach for not putting Shunsuke Nakamura in the game. Even if he wasn't fully fit, with lots of freekicks and cornerkicks opportunities, Nakamura would've been able to help.

If I were Okada I'd put Nakamura at the 2nd half of the game instead of subbing in the other Nakamura, Kengo. Honda would benefit from Shunsuke's great passing ability and would only need to worry about scoring instead of leaving Okazaki free to score. Shunsuke would be able to help in the late penalty kicks as well.

As a Japan Team Fan I'm just sad that this was the last Shunsuke Nakamura World Cup I'll ever see and he didn't even play much. End of an Era… let's hope Honda will take Japan to the next level!

Cheers from Brazil

Well, it was good while it lasted… I do think we must proud of this team effort but we should also recognize this team limitations as well and try to improve. I do also think that we got a bit overrated after the Denmark game with people saying Japan was a GOOD team, telling how much the asian football has improved, etc… But this team is overall worse than the ones from 02 and 06 imo. 3 of the 4 games were mostly pure defense by Japan with some few offensive sparks. And Im not bashing Japan, not at all. Im glad they made the last 16, but we need to recognize that it wasnt due to great football.
Things that were clearly positive through this tournamente was our defense and Keisuke Honda imo. The line of Komano – Tulio – Nakazawa – Nagatomo looked really solid to me, but unfortunately they are getting old (Nakazawa especially) and might not be available for the next WC. Kawashima also proved to be a reliable goalkeeper and im glad he benched Kawaguchi and Narazaki. Honda was the MVP of Japan and one of the surprises of the whole tournament, i guess were building around him for the next decade maybe (?). And for that we must find some decent strikers and offensive midfielders for the future (Morimoto, Okazaki?) So whats next for Japan? Im not japanese (only jap family) and im not too familiar with the japanese prospects (?). I was looking at this 2010 roster age and most of them are going to be +30 for the next WC… So what can we expect? Who is replacing Okada? Who stays, who goes? I was wondering if we could discuss that using this blog?
And good job Aidan. Ive reading this blog before and during this world cup and there is always good reads. Thanks!

And lets not blame Komano, he did a really decent job considering he was the third option at the right back. And how about Uchida? Probably the bigger disappointment of this WC? Is he going to step up next time? Im not to familiar with his football but i've always heard good stuff about him and i was really hoping he could be a diference during this tournament… oh well…

And one last thing: Why didn't Okada subbed in a penalty kicker at the 2nd overtime? At that point the chances of a penalty shootout were HUGE. Im not going for the Shunsuke bandwagon but i was really hoping we would be subbed in at that point… or anyone else besides Tamada. And about Kamashima, i was confident he was going to defend at least one after he managed do did it twice in a row (England and Denmark). His first jumps were good, but the last ones were awful… but overall a good wc for him.

Being English, I'm well used to such disappointments! But it doesn't make it any the pleasanter. People can say that they lost “with honour” but frankly it just leaves you thinking that you've been knowcked out without being beaten in that match and you deserved to go through just as much as the opposition.

But what can you do…on to the next and let's look forward to a successful Asian Cup next year (trying to be positive!)

With regards the What Next questions…absolutely, I'm planning a few articles along those lines in the coming days once the dust has settled on this campaign, so absolutely yes, we'll have plenty of discussion about those things.

They acheieved great things (relatively) with a limited squad and a limited approach, but it was necessary under the circumstances I think – had they carried on as they were then they may well have suffered a beating. But we can't play so defensively forever – after all Japan now look to the Asian Cup where they will not be the underdog, but one of the powers. That is a perennial problem – playing weaker teams in Asia is not ideal preparation for facing top world teams, and the style of play may need to adapt to suit, as it did this time.

And thanks for your kind words about this blog…keep on coming back because this blog is here to stay – even though it's named after the World Cup this blog will continue regardless, through the Asian Cup and on towards the next World Cup qualifying etc etc etc…

Uchida had been first choice, but the story was that he suffered too greatly with the altitude, so he seems to have just been along for a nice holiday!

I'm not sure who the 5th penalty taker was going to be, but those that took them had all been successful in previous Asian Cup shootouts I think – probably Honda excepted as he's newer to the set up. Certainly Komano had taken successful penalties in shoot-outs for Japan before…but not this time.

If only Kawashima had saved one…if only…then again – if only my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle…

Thanks? XD

Oh lol. You know and we all know you will be back albeit under a different name like I dunno “lil persie”… Expect a response soon.

Aha at least you persisted using your hidden latent memory powers in your brain. In similar situations I would have googled part of the lyrics. Oh the things I have googled … XD

Okada would have ripped off his suit revealing a special edition JNT kit with the number 0 and boss on the back and take the 5th penalty by kicking the ball with incredible force straight at the GK taking both the ball and Gk into net….. True story.

Like “abattoir” xD

Ari, Thanks for your kind comments about the blog – great to hear! This blog will be continuing on with all things Japan national team related with the Asian Cup and Copa America to look forward to next year, and the prospect of a new coach and a few new faces in the squad as the oldies retire…despite the blog url being “world cup blog” it's really just a permanent blog so keep coming back and leaving your insights!

As for Dunga…well that would be rather nice wouldn't it – especially if he won the World Cup with Brazil now…whatever happens with them they will most probably get rid of him as seems to be the way with Brazil, so you never know!! It'll certainly be far less stressful to be Japan coach than Brazil coach!

Anyway, in the next day or so I'll have a blog post on about speculation about the new coach, so be sre to leave your suggestions, realistic or otherwise, on there.

i think your comments on the Japanese strengths are spot on, and are easy for Japanese to underestimate their importance since that's the characteristics they see all the time. For me as an Englishman let me tell you how good it sould be for England to have a team willing to follow orders and work selflessly for each other, instead of a bunch of inflated egos!!

I am from Slovenia. Japan, be proud.
It was fantastic to watch your team playing as it plays really great football.
Hope that next time you will get to quarterfinals, and we will see a lot of nice football play from your team as we saw it in this world cup.
Someone had to go, this time it was you, (sadly true) but next time the other team will.
If you play with such amount of entusiasm and honor as your team did then it is bound to happen…:)

Till next time:)
Cheers