Both teams entered the stadium... Bahrain vs Japan, Red vs Blue is on! The atmosphere is pretty good.
........Yanagisawa...... ....Nakamura...Ogasawara Santos................Kaji .....Fukunishi...Nakata.. Nakazawa Miyamoto Tanaka ..........Kawaguchi......
If Japan beats Bahrain, all Iran would need is a draw at home to clinch a world cup spot. You SHOULD cheer for Japan!
no 11 point is enough to qualify.... it's 4:41 AM so don't feel like doing the math... but yeah 11 is the magic number! .... but yeah after a draw the best result for Iran would be Japan winning
I'm sorry I have to mention this... but the last time I remember Japan playing 3-6-1 was... in 2002 world cup against Turkey. With Nishizawa as the lone forward. *shrudders* I'm not sure about this, but I hope it works out for Japan!
I still don't see how a draw is the best result for Iran, it keeps both teams in striking distance, while a Japan win basically seals the deal for Iran, giving them two games to get that 1 point. I guess you could say that a draw furthers the gap between Iran and both teams by 2 points, but in the end, you only have to do better than one of those teams, not both of them to make the World Cup. Anyway, Takahara is hurt. And Zico wants to see his lover Yanagisawa run around in shorts for awhile.
The Japanese side is cautious and composed. And they quickly start looking for "holes" of Bahraini defense once they get the ball. 16' Free kick for Bahrain
Well Yanagi was his original lover, but he ran away to Italy. Now that he is back Zico dumped Suzuki right away in hopes of bringing about his old love affair.
Japan subs: Narazaki, Tsuboi, Inamoto, K. Nakata, Suzuki, Tamada, and Oguro 21' Salmeen seems to have hurt his ankle but is back to the game. Yellow card given to Santos for simulation in the penalty area. Stupid play... But Both sides are surging forward.
The JFA Chairman? Nah, I'm just kidding. I know the chairman is Kawabuchi. I'm just in an oddly giddy mood after Korea salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat.
He needs to pretend that he is playing in an Asian Cup (where he always performs his best for some reason!)