Japan and Greece each claimed their first point of the World Cup on a
muggy night in Natal, but neither will be especially happy for it.
After defeats to Ivory Coast and Colombia in their opening fixtures,
both sides were seeking a win to drag themselves back into contention
for the knock-out stages. But neither succeeded in overcoming their own
attacking deficiencies on what turned out to be a frustrating evening in
Natal.
The defining moment of the match came in the 38th minute. Already on a yellow card, Greece’s captain, Kostas Katsouranis, dived into a challenge on Makoto Hasebe in the middle of the park and arrived late enough to warrant his second caution.
He left berating the referee, but truthfully had no one but himself to blame for a challenge that had hardly seemed necessary in the first place.
By that point his team had already lost one member of their starting XI, Fulham’s oft-injured forward Kostas Mitroglou, who had asked to come off after an awkward aerial collision with Hasebe. He had been drafted into the team to give Greece more purpose up front after their limp defeat to Colombia, but lasted just 35 minutes before he was substituted by the man he replaced in the line-up, Theofanis Gekas.
Katsouranis’s dismissal necessitated another change as Giorgos Karagounis relieved Giannis Fetfatzidis to restore some balance in the middle of the park. But despite these changes, Greece actually ended the half the stronger, Vasilis Torosidis drawing a sharp save from Eiji Kawashima with his shot from the edge of the box, before heading another opportunity over from close range.
Prior to the red card, however, Japan had dominated. By far the more comfortable side in possession, they picked their way through Greece’s tightly packed lines diligently if sometimes without any great sense of urgency – drivers following Alberto Zaccheroni’s tactical satnav.
Their best chances had arrived during a purple patch in the middle of the half. Yuya Osako went close twice in three minutes, first drawing a save from Orestis Karnezis down to the goalkeeper’s right and then curling a more venomous effort just wide of the post on the far side. Soon afterwards, Keisuke Honda whipped a free-kick towards the top right corner of the goal, but was denied by Karnezis.
Japan would see plenty more possession to start the second-half, but achieved little with it. It was telling that the 57th-minute introduction of Shinji Kagawa – who had been left out of the starting XI after a flat performance during his team’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast – should produce one of the largest cheers of the night from the sizeable Japanese contingent in Natal.
No sooner had he entered the field, however, than Greece summoned their best chance of the night, Gekas powering a header towards the bottom left corner of the net from near the penalty spot. Only a fine reflex stop from Kawashima kept the scores level.
Japan would waste an even better opportunity moments later. In the 68th minute Atsuto Uchida ran onto a long ball into the box and swiftly played it square along the edge of the six-yard area. Yoshito Okubo arrived on the far side with an open goal at his mercy, but screwed his shot high and wide.
There was time yet for more both teams to fail to win this game. Uchida thrashed wide of the post from five yards for Japan, and Okubo stung Karnezis’s palms from distance. Jose Holebas tested Kawashima. But who knows how long it would have taken these two misfiring sides to produce a goal? Ninety minutes had proved quite insufficient.
The defining moment of the match came in the 38th minute. Already on a yellow card, Greece’s captain, Kostas Katsouranis, dived into a challenge on Makoto Hasebe in the middle of the park and arrived late enough to warrant his second caution.
He left berating the referee, but truthfully had no one but himself to blame for a challenge that had hardly seemed necessary in the first place.
By that point his team had already lost one member of their starting XI, Fulham’s oft-injured forward Kostas Mitroglou, who had asked to come off after an awkward aerial collision with Hasebe. He had been drafted into the team to give Greece more purpose up front after their limp defeat to Colombia, but lasted just 35 minutes before he was substituted by the man he replaced in the line-up, Theofanis Gekas.
Katsouranis’s dismissal necessitated another change as Giorgos Karagounis relieved Giannis Fetfatzidis to restore some balance in the middle of the park. But despite these changes, Greece actually ended the half the stronger, Vasilis Torosidis drawing a sharp save from Eiji Kawashima with his shot from the edge of the box, before heading another opportunity over from close range.
Prior to the red card, however, Japan had dominated. By far the more comfortable side in possession, they picked their way through Greece’s tightly packed lines diligently if sometimes without any great sense of urgency – drivers following Alberto Zaccheroni’s tactical satnav.
Their best chances had arrived during a purple patch in the middle of the half. Yuya Osako went close twice in three minutes, first drawing a save from Orestis Karnezis down to the goalkeeper’s right and then curling a more venomous effort just wide of the post on the far side. Soon afterwards, Keisuke Honda whipped a free-kick towards the top right corner of the goal, but was denied by Karnezis.
Japan would see plenty more possession to start the second-half, but achieved little with it. It was telling that the 57th-minute introduction of Shinji Kagawa – who had been left out of the starting XI after a flat performance during his team’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast – should produce one of the largest cheers of the night from the sizeable Japanese contingent in Natal.
No sooner had he entered the field, however, than Greece summoned their best chance of the night, Gekas powering a header towards the bottom left corner of the net from near the penalty spot. Only a fine reflex stop from Kawashima kept the scores level.
Japan would waste an even better opportunity moments later. In the 68th minute Atsuto Uchida ran onto a long ball into the box and swiftly played it square along the edge of the six-yard area. Yoshito Okubo arrived on the far side with an open goal at his mercy, but screwed his shot high and wide.
There was time yet for more both teams to fail to win this game. Uchida thrashed wide of the post from five yards for Japan, and Okubo stung Karnezis’s palms from distance. Jose Holebas tested Kawashima. But who knows how long it would have taken these two misfiring sides to produce a goal? Ninety minutes had proved quite insufficient.
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