Football: Own-goals deny Japan historic England win
GRAZ, Austria: Two own-goals saved England from embarrassment in their final World Cup warm match as they came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 here on Sunday.
But the unconvincing victory threw up as many questions as answers for manager Fabio Capello just 48 hours before he must cut his squad for South Africa from 30 to 23.
The unfortunate Yuji Nakazawa and Marcus 'Tulio' Tanaka, who put his side ahead after six minutes, both turned the ball into their own net in the second half - just when it looked as though Japan were heading for the first victory over England in their history.
But although Capello can be pleased with the result there is no hiding the fact that his experimental side under-performed for large sections of the match and needed five second-half substitutions to bring them to life.
At times, England were outplayed by a Japan side who went into the friendly fixture low on confidence following three defeats in four games and with manager Takeshi Okada said to be under intense pressure.
England's performance in the first half in particular was miserable as Capello's side were slovenly in attitude, sloppy in possession and short on ideas.
That was in part down to an experimental 4-2-4 formation that featured Aaron Lennon on the left wing and Theo Walcott on the right, a tactic which left Frank Lampard and the one-paced Tom Huddlestone fighting a losing battle in midfield where Japan enjoyed plenty of possession.
Okada's side were ahead after only six minutes when Glen Johnson lost his man from a Yasuhito Endo corner and Tulio swept home. The Japanese visibly grew in confidence after that, shaking off memories of recent defeats, including a 2-0 home reverse against South Korea earlier in the week, to dominate possession in areas that England would normally expect to call their own.
The closest Capello's side came to an equaliser was when Rooney cleverly found Lennon inside the area, only for the Tottenham winger's shot to be well saved by Eiji Kawashima.
But in truth Japan, were comfortable for most of the opening 45 minutes, even threatening a second when Rio Ferdinand slipped and Shinji Okazaki fired over the bar when well placed to score.
It was no surprise when Capello made five changes at half-time, bringing on Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jamie Carragher, Joe Hart and Steven Gerrard, with the disappointing Darren Bent, Walcott, David James and Huddlestone going off.
The changes, with Cole playing behind Rooney in a 4-5-1 formation, reaped almost immediate dividends when Lampard earned England a penalty as Honda foolishly handled the Englishman's free-kick.
But Lampard's 55th minute effort from the spot was superbly saved by Kawashima, sparking real celebration in the Japan side and leaving Capello with yet another headache.
Lampard has enjoyed an outstanding season for Chelsea, scoring 27 goals in all competitions, but he has now missed two penalties in a row, having also shot wide in the FA Cup Final.
Japan showed tenacity and energy in all positions, with substitute Daiki Iwamasa coming close to doubling their lead with an excellent left-foot shot that was well saved by Hart after 66 minutes.
Only Rooney kept England going but Kawashima enjoyed an excellent day, saving one long-range effort comfortably from the Manchester United man and then acrobatically tipping another curling effort over the bar.
However, just when it seemed the Japanese were set to celebrate a landmark victory they finally cracked, Joe Cole's near-post cross headed into his own net after 71 minutes by the unfortunate Tanaka.
And when Joe Cole fed Ashley Cole down the left 10 minutes laterm the Chelsea left-back's cross was turned into his own net by a sliding Nakazawa to seal Japan's fate.
Even then there was time for Hart to save well from Makoto Hasebe and for Ujki Abe to head against the crossbar. - AFP/fa
