Japan 0 – South Africa 0; Japan's Reality Check

Well this one was a wake up call for the Nihon Daihyo. Coming off of a 3 match stretch where they outscored their opponents 13-0, the team from Japan failed to find the back of the net yesterday. In what appeared to be a throwback to the offensive-inept team of old, Japan controlled the majority of possession, but the Blue Samurai could not pull the trigger and capitalize on all of their hard work.

Give credit where its due, the South Africans were no push overs and disrupted the passing attack of Japan time and time again. To be perfectly honest, this was a fairly boring match, as there wasn't much offense from either team, and anytime a match ends in a draw I think you wind up wishing that you had just rest about the outcome in the paper the next game instead of having wasted 90 minutes of your time. Japan had a few chances that if not for some fine keeper play from South Africa could have easily altered the score line. Bafana Bafana's best chance for goal came in the 68^th when a clever cherry picking play left Yuji Nakazawa to head the ball back to Kawashima, Japan's goal keeper, a split second before the Bafana striker could put a toe to it.

I don't really have much to say in terms of analysis. Takayuki Morimoto was sorely missed and its hard to imagine Japan getting anywhere without him alongside Shinji Okazaki up front. Okubo and Koroki played opposite Okazaki and looked just as invisible as they have in the past. Its becoming more clear with every match that Japan has absolutely no depth at forward. If either Okazaki or Morimoto have fitness issues come next June, don't count on Japan scoring many goals.

Another realization was the importance of Shunsuke Nakamura's presence on the pitch. Not making his appearance until the middle of the second half, Shunsuke came in and inspired a very flat team. Keisuke Honda, whom Shunsuke replaced, was responsible for a countless amount of stolen passes and was guilty of holding the ball in many situations when passing opportunities presented themselves. Honda still has more to learn in terms of team-play.

All in all, a decent but not extraordinary effort from team Japan. If this match served any purpose, it brought the Nihon Daihyo back to Earth from a marvelous string of previous performances and highlighted the places where we still have room for improvement. We will take on Hong Kong on Wednesday in a rematch from the last 6-0 win for Japan.

Also, the site of the match, Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth was built just for the World Cup. Hats off to the South Africa for building a beautiful stadium and doing it on time.

Oh, and the Blue Samurai decided to sport their new jerseys today. They would probably have looked better if they had played better.

Watch the match highlights here.