Japan defeated Viet Nam’s The Cong Club in their 2007 Asian Cup warm-up at Ha Noi’s My Dinh Stadium on Friday.
Japan’s coach Ivica Osim opted for the second line-ups in the first half with four key players including goalkeeper Kawaguchi, defender Nakazawa, midfielder Abe and striker Takahara, who is playing for Germany’s Eintract Frankfurt.
While Japan started the game at normal pace and avoided most tackles, the local first division club came out strongly. The Vietnamese team, however, could not unlock Japan’s defense.
Defender Yuji Nakazawa put Japan in front on the stroke of half time when he headed home after combining well with Takahara in the right wing. Celtic’s star Shunsuke Nakamura was thrown in after the break.
Japan focused on one-two combinations in the midfield and they tripled their lead in the stoppage time with two more goals from midfielder Yasuhito Endo and striker Kisho Yano to seal the 3-0 win on the night.
Japan coach Ivica Osim used the match to hand all 23 players playing time in the high temperatures and humidity of Ha Noi.
