2002 FIFA World Cup (tm) Finals - Results & Fixtures - Japan vs Belgium

4 Jun 2002


Japan	2 - 2	Belgium
	(HT: 0 - 0)

Game Details
Venue Saitama Stadium 2002	Attendance 55256
Referee William Mattus (CRC) Assistant Referees Haidar Koleit (LIB) Yuri Dupanov (BLR)

Game Events
#	Date	Player	Event	Period	Mins	H/A
1	4 Jun 2002	Peter van der Hayden	Yellow Card	First Half	21	A
2	4 Jun 2002	Kazuyuki Toda	Yellow Card	First Half	31	H
3	4 Jun 2002	Junichi Inamoto	Yellow Card	Second Half	9	H
4	4 Jun 2002	Marc Wilmots	Goal	Second Half	12	A
5	4 Jun 2002	Takayuki Suzuki	Goal	Second Half	14	H
6	4 Jun 2002	Gert Verheyen	Yellow Card	Second Half	17	A
7	4 Jun 2002	Jacky Peeters	Yellow Card	Second Half	18	A
8	4 Jun 2002	Shinji Ono	Player Out	Second Half	19	H
8	4 Jun 2002	Alessandro Santos	Substitute In	Second Half	19	H
10	4 Jun 2002	Junichi Inamoto	Goal	Second Half	22	H
11	4 Jun 2002	Takayuki Suzuki	Player Out	Second Half	23	H
12	4 Jun 2002	Hiroaki Morishima	Substitute In	Second Half	23	H
13	4 Jun 2002	Johan Walem	Player Out	Second Half	23	A
14	4 Jun 2002	Wesley Sonck	Substitute In	Second Half	23	A
15	4 Jun 2002	Ryuzo Morioka	Player Out	Second Half	26	H
16	4 Jun 2002	Tsuneyasu Miyamoto	Substitute In	Second Half	26	H
17	4 Jun 2002	Peter van der Hayden	Goal	Second Half	30	A
18	4 Jun 2002	Eric van Meir	Yellow Card	Second Half	37	A
19	4 Jun 2002	Gert Verheyen	Player Out	Second Half	38	A
20	4 Jun 2002	Branko Strupar	Substitute In	Second Half	38	A

Match report

Co-hosts Japan won an historic first point at the World Cup finals after a pulsating 2-2 draw with Belgium in their opening match. After a tight first half, the match exploded into life on the hour as veteran Marc Wilmots put Belgium ahead only for Japan to equalise two minutes later through Takayuki Suzuki. Then came a memorable goal from Junichi Inamoto to send most of the 63,000 crowd at the Saitama Stadium into raptures, but Belgium struck back through Peter Van der Heyden. Belgium survived a sustained period of Japanese pressure at the end, including a skewed shot across goal, but the Europeans could also have grabbed victory. Inamoto had the ball in the net in the final five minutes but the flag had been raised for a push on a defender. Japan proved that they are capable of fulfilling the hopes of a nation by reaching the second phase of the competition to improve on their display in the 1998 finals when they lost all three games.
Coach Philippe Troussier paid tribute to his team's attacking performance, but suggested his team's lack of experience at this level cost them the full points.
"This is an historic point because it is Japan's first point at a World Cup finals and that deserves to be celebrated," he said.
"We played to win with our qualities and our faults and we also showed our inexperience.
Frenchman Troussier said Japan now had a genuine chance of qualifying from the Group H which also includes Tunisia and Russia.
"Everything is possible now, we really believe that."
Belgium coach Robert Waseige said Japan's comeback had taken Belgium by surprise.
"Just when we seemed to have got on top, the Japanese seemed to find a new gear," he said.
"But I am pleased that we were able to react and get back on level terms. The public was like a 12th man for them. They were incredible. It's the first time that I have seen a crowd like that."
The opening goal came when the Japanese defence failed to clear their lines. The ball was lobbed in to Wilmots, who with his back to goal launched himself skywards to score with a bicycle kick on 59 minutes. But just two minutes later the stadium erupted as Japan drew level. Inamoto weighted a pass over the flat-footed Belgian defence for Takayuki Suzuki to poke the ball past goalkeeper Geert De Vlieger. Japan began piling on the pressure as the Belgian defence looked ragged for the first time in the match. A curling Shinji Ono free-kick from a tight angle forced a save from De Vlieger and then Inamoto, who has just spent a season in the reserve team of English Premiership side Arsenal, scored the most crucial goal of his career. Picking up the ball on the halfway line, the blonde-haired midfielder raced between two defenders and curled the ball past the advancing De Vlieger, provoking mayhem in the stadium and a triumphant gesture from Troussier. The Japanese thought they had won the match but the experienced Belgians never gave up and got their equaliser.
Belgium had two clear chances to take a first-half lead but the unmarked Bart Goor blasted a shot wide of the post from 10 yards out after Gert Verheyen's cross was not properly cleared. And Wilmots' header was well saved by Japanese goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki, showing why he has been preferred to Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi between the posts, although Troussier will have noted his central defenders' weakness against crosses lofted into the penalty area. There was an early scare for Japan when their playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata was left limping after being caught by a defender as he set off on a surging run. But the midfielder who plays for Italian club Parma was soon back in action. With 10 minutes left he collected a backheel and hammered a shot narrowly over the Belgian crossbar. Japan had a half-chance when Suzuki had a shot blocked by Van Buyten and the resulting corner was collected by Belgian goalkeeper De Vlieger. Atsushi Yanagisawa's header was too weak to trouble De Vlieger in the dying minutes of the half.

(courtesy of dailysoccer)




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Page created by Christakis Ioannou on 4 June 2002 23:12:24.