Japan's second goal seemed to be by hand. Unlucky for china. Anyway congratulations to Japanese players. But Japan did not play well in this AC. They must improve, otherwise Oman will pass Japan in WCQ.
Justice prevailed and showed the best players of China what a half regular Japan can do. Whoever backs you up behind the curtains justice will indeed prevail! I suggest a change in the management of AFC. And for Gods sake choose better refrees next time these NTs deserve it. Congratulations Japan!
unfortunately i was not at the field, if i was, i would so go running up 2 the field and break the arm koji nakata scored with. and damn people the semi final was over long ago, knock off the bitterness and resentment. if japan won because of other goals i can understand, but a hand goal then a counter attack when we r busy attacking is not that graceful. they win, but i doubt the chinese fans will let them go untouched after winning on a hand goal. well good luck, break a leg
Oh, yes. Most of the Chinese audiences were gone, but some radical Chinese are still there, burning Japan's flag, and Japan team and Japanese supporters cannot get out of the stadium yet. Almost 2 hours after the game...!
whatever I could be wrong but I don't think he even moved his arm. there were plenty of white shirts around, so its their problem for not getting to the ball, but only blocking the ref's view. no way the ref could have seen it hit is hand, so you can't blame the ref. Shame on the Chinese coach for not attending the ceremony. He complained none of Japan's goals were earned, though Japan was the one screwed by many calls. Of course the Chinese cameras didn't show replays of those controversial calls. Hey, at least China won the Fair Play award. ha, they certainly didn't deserve it with all their diving antics and cheap fouls on Iran, but I guess AFC felt bad for them and didn't want to give Japan both the cup and fair play.
For someone talking about how people should knock off "bitterness and resentment" you seem awfully bitter Japan won.
The foul that lead to the first goal was a little sketchy, the hand of nakata goal was gut wrenching. But this is football there is no such thing as a perfectly fair game where every call is the right call. Kudos to Japan. But I do have to say shame on Nakata for celebrating like he didnt score with his hand. I would say the same thing had it been a chinese player scoring and we won 2-1. These pros wear a fair play badge and yet they go out and dive, kick people, pull shirts, curse and give people the finger.
Some people also attacked Ambassador Harada's car and broke the windows after the game. I can understand people being angry, but going and attacking a diplomat is sort out of crazy. There are a report of a few arrests. But we have to remember that this is a few people and NOT the majority of them. It's always a small group that gives the large group a bad rep.
sorry for not being the bigger man, it was just right after the game... i regret saying those things. i am a bigger man, they won good 4 them, dont hate them... just the hand goal pissed me off. i guess anything can happen in football and that's the beauty of it, even if china dominated possesion... but what pisses me off the most is still the sweden danmark 2-2. in recent football magazine in sweden(where i live) i was said that the players were discussing the 2-2 on the pitch. that was anything but beauty of the game. good luck 2 japan 2 get out of our country... the people dont know what they r doing, too much anti japan propaganda on the tv... i skiped that and watched anime instead we'll take it next time for sure!!! always b hopeful!!!
I think they were. I like how Nikkansports had a photo of Zico looking worried boarding a bus guarded by soldiers with guns.
Zico needs a vacation. The guy looks wired all the time. He looks like he's about to snap from being around so many Asians all the time. JFA should give him a leave of absence so he can go back to Brasil, bask under the sun at a beach, pimp fine Brazilian bltches, do some llello, and fly back to Japan a happier, jollier, Zico.
This is just absurd. This has no place in sports. This makes Greece vs Turkey rivalry (usually considered the most fierce in Europe) look civilized by a mile: http://www.cnn.com/2004/SPORT/football/08/07/china.japan.reut/index.html
Saw the game in Shanghai. Like I expected, the refereeing was substandard. It is like they all blink when a key moment happens, like Japan's second goal. We may fast be approaching the day when the ref needs to wear a TV on his wrist for replays. Japan still had the depth and experience to pull it off, but credit to China for fighting hard for the length of the game. Gut wrenching to lose at home like that but they'll be back. Congrats Japan and good luck to China in the WQ qualifiers.
Good work Japan! Although the final was hard fought and the game was pretty even, in the end Japan showed why they are one of the most resilient team there is. Faced against a hostile crowd, they were never rattled and played like true champions. The second goal was iffy and I'm not sure if it would have been a different match had it not gone in, but these things happen in football so what can you do. Japan still played a good enough game to deserve the championship I think. Oh, and cheers to China for making it this far and putting up a very good match in the final. Kudos to the fans who kept their cool and was a fair sport as well. It was pretty depressing to see my gf's family quite rejected after the game (and kind of reminded me of how I felt after Germans beat Korea in 2002) because this championship could have meant a lot to the nation and for their football in general. But this is only one small step and China will just continue to get better as time goes by.
anyway, this is a spectacular game , the chinese players are making improvement , you couldn't have understand in my mind how dramatic it's. the japanese is no wonder one of the best teams in asia, they have find a proper way to play the match. for this, i really enjoy this game, although a bit disappointed to the final result.
As one of the first neutrals(not japanese or chinese, though one moron insulted me because of my nick) to have brought up safety concerns for the final, i am happy to say i was wrong. Overall, the chinese fans showed their full support for their team, but there was no real nastiness(well, at least not anything i saw on tv), just the usual chants, even though japan won. So, well done chinese fans! The game itself was great(so far both continental finals after the euro have been so much more entertaining, ), and both teams really went all out to win. I think china could have easily forced extra time, if only they took the chances they had. As for the refereeing, it wasnt great, but most of the time adequate, except for the 2nd japanese goal. I personally was praying for someone(anyone) to score again, because it really sucks to lose like that. Credit to japan for finding a 3rd, and now being able to claim they deserved to win. So, all in all, an entertaining and worthy final, congratulations japan and well done china!
I think this is the biggest lesson to take from this tournament. There aren't going to be many easy games in Asia any more. Countries are producing talent, and teams that don't have the players are making up for it with coaching and organized play. And it's important to remember that even though Japan is one of the top teams in Asia, we didn't qualify for the World Cup until 1998, and we were considered minnows back then. The rate of growth in Asia is very fast.
Maybe you should tell CNN and Reuters to include in the article that the game winning goal was by a hand and is illegal.