Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni was not completely satisfied with his players’ performance after the Samurai Blue beat New Zealand 4-2 in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly match on Wednesday night at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
　Playing their first game of 2014 and their last before Zaccheroni announces his World Cup squad in May, Japan were 4-0 up after 17 minutes against the young Kiwis.
　Okazaki Shinji opened the scoring in the fourth minute off a long feed from Kagawa Shinji, who made it 2-0 with a penalty three minutes later. Morishige Masato headed home a Honda Keisuke corner in the 11th minute before Okazaki found the target again off a Honda pass in the 17th minute.
　After that, Japan controlled the game, but slowed down their pace and couldn’t produce any more goals.
　Instead, the hosts gave New Zealand chances to get back into the game, conceding two goals by Chris Wood, in the 39th minute and again in the 80th minute.
　“I was able to play those who hadn’t played much before and see their performances in the game,” Zaccheroni noted.
　Japan played without Hasebe Makoto, Uchida Atsuto, Kakitani Yoichiro and Konno Yasuyuki due to injuries or health problems. Yamaguchi Hotaru, Sakai Hiroki, Morishige and Osako Yuya were given starting opportunities. Aoyama Toshihiro also started in central midfield in place of Endo Yasuhito, who came on in the second half.
　Zaccheroni said, “I wanted to see how much they could do for us with our style. We played how we wanted to play over the first 30 minutes and displayed the good parts of our game: technique with speed. But after taking a 4-0 lead we slowed down and New Zealand came forward. If we had continued attacking with the pace we had over the first 25 minutes, we wouldn’t have given our opponents a chance to attack.
　“We scored more than our opponents did, which was good. But we should become more conscious about reducing the number of goals we concede. We should improve the level of our concentration more to avoid giving away goals.”
　Okazaki’s second goal will go down as Japan’s last at the National Stadium before the venue is renovated for the 2020 Olympics.
　The Mainz forward said: “As I scored on our first chance, I think that made it easier for us to play, but after that good spell I think we had some problems.”
　New Zealand coach Neil Emblen was content with his side’s performance, apart from the first period when his side was “shell-shocked.”
　“We’ve given [the goals] away,” he said. “That was disappointing, because after then obviously there was great play from Japan and chances for them, but we also had plenty of chances as well. We could have scored more goals. That was really encouraging.”
　Asked about Japan, the English coach said, “They have lots of options and they are a great team. I hope they do very well in the World Cup. It will make our result better tonight if you guys win a lot in the World Cup.”
　Japan’s next game will be on May 27 against Cyprus in a Kirin Challenge Cup friendly in Saitama before the team heads to the FIFA World Cup.