Japan vs England, International Friendly

· International Friendly

Japan

FT
1 - 2

England

About

Japan are hosting England at UPC Arena, , , starting on . The match is a part of the International Friendly.

Match Timeline

0': Join us at 1315 BST for England's World Cup warm-up against Japan.
0': Good afternoon ladies and gents. Welcome to this afternoon's live gamecast of England vs Japan from Graz, Austria.
0': The team news is in so let me dive straight in and give you the line-ups.
0': England XI: David James, Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole, Tom Huddlestone, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Theo Walcott, Frank Lampard, Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney, Aaron Lennon.
0': Japan XI: Seigo Narazaki, Atsuto Uchida, Yuji Nakazawa, Yuto Nagatomo, Junichi Inamoto, Makoto Hasebe, Shunsuke Nakamura, Keisuke Honda, Daisuke Matsui, Shinji Okazaki.
0': Looks at though Japan will be playing a 4-2-3-1 formation while England will be in a familiar 4-4-2.
0': For England, Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent have the most to play for, with neither sure of a place in the final 23. Huddlestone is in for Carrick and Bent in for Crouch. Capello has made seven changes in total from the team that started last week's 3-1 win over Mexico with David James replacing Rob Green, John Terry in for Ledley King, Ashley Cole in for Leighton Baines, Frank Lampard in for James Milner and Aaron Lennon replacing Steven Gerrard.
0': Japan start with CSKA Moscow's Keisuke Honda, their playmaker and danger man as well as a full strength back four and goalkeeper.
0': The teams have emerged from the tunnel and the national anthems have been sung. Kick off is imminent.
1': Japan, in all navy blue, kick off against England who are in red shirts, white shorts and red socks. England are shooting from right to left in this first half.
1': It's a great surface for this game and some pre-match rainfall has given the surface a nice zip to it.
2': Rooney is already at the centre of the action by dropping off to create space for Lampard and Bent.
3': Walcott wins an early free kick and Lampard will whip this in from the right.
4': This is only the third time Rooney and Bent have started an international together, with the last time against Brazil in Qatar. They seem to be linking well in the early stages.
5': Lampard overhits a ball out to Walcott on the right. Lampard seems to be looking for Walcott at every opportunity.
6': GOAL! 1-0 Japan! Tanaka is the scorer!
7': Japan force a corner on the right and the low ball in finds Tanaka, who steers it first time in past David James at the near post.
8': Cheap goal to concede from England's point of view, with Glen Johnson dozing.
9': England look a little shocked but continue to dominate possession. Lampard and Rooney are looking to combine but England's passes aren't finding their targets at the moment.
10': Capello shouts "Come on" from the bench. Not sure that's enough.
11': Yasuhito Endo forces a Japan corner off Glen Johnson.
12': England are all over th place again as the corner comes in but eventually they hack it clear.
14': Johnson knocks the ball out of play after Shinji Okazaki is injured after a challenge with Huddlestone.
16': Lennon fails to keep a long pass from Ferdinand in play. Lennon doesn't look comfortable on the left hand side.
18': But Lennon gets a great chance in front of goal. Rooney slips a beautifully weighted ball into the path of Lennon who has to take the shot inside the box first time with his left foot but the keeper saves it. Lennon should definitely score.
19': Mistake by Ferdinand lets Shinji Okazaki in but he fires over when he should hit the target.
20': Walcott wins a free kick and Lampard fizzes it into the danger area. The ball takes a touch off a Japanese leg and England have another corner.
21': Lennon puts the ball in from the left and it's too high but only misses the target by a few inches in the end. Japan goal kick.
23': It's been a sloppy game so far. Nothing incisive by either side to comment on.
24': England win a free kick some 40 yards out and Lampard tries his luck... The keeper saves Lampard's awkward shot which bounces just in front of him. Corner to England.
25': Lampard's corner finds Bent unmarked but the Sunderland man miscues his header and the chance is gone.
26': Rooney wins a free kick after tangling with Yoshito Okubo.
27': Lampard fires the ball into the wall. Typical of the first half so far.
28': Lennon skips past four challenges before the ball ricochets to Johnson who wastefully fires the ball about 20 metres over the bar.
30': Ferdinand hits a long ball to Bent who, under pressure attempts to head the ball goalbound. The goalkeeper, Eiji Kawashima, does enough to put Bent off and the ball trickles wide.
31': England seem to be suffering from playing two wide men in Walcott and Lennon. 4-4-2 isn't offering enough versatility or solidity for England at this stage.
33': Terry is happy to hear the referee's whistle after Shinji Okazaki's foul on the former England captain would have left him exposed at the back.
35': Rooney floats a great ball out to Walcott on the right who steers the ball back into box towards Lampard, but the ball is cleared by Tanaka. Nice approach play by England though.
37': Huddlestone lets fly from distance. His low shot is way off target but Rooney did well to improvise and almost steered the ball into the net. Just wide.
39': Huddlestone drills the ball out to Cole in space on the left, who cuts inside Yasuyuki Konno and shoots with his right foot, but only finds the keepers arms.
40': Cole could have put a low cross into the box with his left there.
41': Rooney plays another beautiful ball into Walcott, who beats his man but can't find anyone with a low cross into the box.
43': I wish I had more to say about this game but I don't. It's been dismal all round.
45': Indeed the referee has had enough as well. The ref blows for half time.
45': Japan haven't been great but have scored. England have been insipid and haven't. And that sums it up. Join me in 15 minutes for the second half.
46': Five England substitutions; On: Joe Hart, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Shaun Wright-Phillips. Off: David James, Glen Johnson, Tom Huddlestone, Theo Walcott, Darren Bent.
47': Steven Gerrard has a great effort saved. Fizzing shot from distance.
48': Joe Cole appears to be playing just behind Rooney in this second half, with Gerrard partnering Lampard in the middle.
49': The tempo from both teams has improved already.
50': Honda tries an effort from distance and Joe Hart tips it over. For some reason a goal kick is given. That was a good shot from Honda but a great save by Hart.
51': Gerrard switches the ball out to Lennon on the right who attacks Yuto Nagatomo and wins a corner.
52': Gerrard's corner finds Joe Cole, whose goalbound header is blocked.
53': Blistering run by Wright-Phillips on the left after winning two tackles bravely. He loses control of the ball but Lampard, who picks it up, is fouled on the edge of the box. Chance for England.
54': Penalty to England!
55': Lampard's free kick is handballed rather comically by Honda and England have won a penalty. Lampard to take.
56': Lampard has missed! Lampard hits it low to the keeper's right, but Eiji Kawashima pulls off an excellent save!
57': That's 2 penalty misses in a row for Lampard after his FA Cup final miss.
58': Rooney has gone in late on Tanaka. That was a tackle born out of frustration. The Rooney of old reared it's ugly head for a second. No card.
59': Capello is shouting at Japan coach Takeshi Okada. I shouldn't laugh, but I am.
60': Yasuhito Endo clips a cross in from the left as he tries to find the head of Shinji Okazaki, but the ball is out for a goal kick.
61': Joe Cole does well to find Lennon on the right who sprints into the open space before flighting a cross into Rooney. Tanaka heads clear under pressure from Rooney.
62': Rooney has smashed the ball from a good 35 yards out. He really got his weight behind that one and keeper Eiji Kawashima does well to hang on to the ball.
63': John Terry is struggling after clashing with Honda. Not sure if it's his back or knee but he feel awkwardly and the game has stopped for the moment.
65': Japan sub: Daiki Iwamasa on for Shinji Okazaki.
66': And Okazaki is involved straight away! He finds some space behind Cole who is out of position and takes a touch before forcing a good save out of Joe Hart.
68': Wayne Rooney strikes from distance again and he's getting closer! Fantastic curling strike by Rooney which forces a top save out of Eiji Kawashima. That was flying into the top corner.
69': Correction; Japan sub: Morimoto on for Okazaki.
70': GOAL FOR ENGLAND! 1-1
71': Lennon finds Joe Cole on the right, whose cross is diverted into his own net by Tanaka. That's two goals today for the Japan defender.
72': Gerrard floats a ball into Rooney but again the ball is too high for the England man.
73': Heskey is warming up for England. Lennon could be withdrawn.
74': England sub: Heskey on for Lennon.
76': England have reverted to a 442 formation, with Heskey on the field. Joe Cole in midfield again.
78': Gerrard skips through a few tackles before finding Rooney on the edge of the box. Rooney plays it back into his path but the ball just gets away from Gerrard as the keeper approached. Good play by those two.
80': Emile Heskey wins a free-kick wide on the right, deep in Japan territory. Gerrard curls the ball across the face of the penalty area and Japan clear.
82': GOAL FOR ENGLAND! 2-1!
83': Ashley Cole beats his man on the left before putting a dangerous ball into the box. Yuji Nakazawa slides in to clear but it takes a touch of his toe and goes into his own net. Another own goal!
84': And with that an Austrian thunderstorm has commenced.
86': Wright-Phillips and Ferdinand slide in on a now very greasy surface to concede a foul. Not sure which player was penalised there but Honda is standing over the ball to take the free kick.
87': But Honda's free kick sails way over and Joe Hart is just 3 minutes away from an international clean sheet.
89': Gerrard puts a perfect cross into Heskey from the right and Heskey somehow, somehow fails to make contact from no more than 3 yards out.
90': Japan attack down the left and a cross finds Abe, whose header loops over Joe Hart and hits the frame of the goal.
90': Gerrard is limping in the closing stages.
90': And that's the final whistle. England win their final World Cup warm-up game 2-1 but they were far from convincing.
90': Two own goals, a missed penalty and a horrific miss from Heskey sums it up. Japan passed the ball around well but also lacked a cutting edge up front.
90': For more updates please follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mjdasilva.
90': Join me for live commentaries throughout the World Cup, starting with South Africa vs Mexico on June 11.
90': Until then, thanks for following today. Bye!

Statistics

ENG		JPN
8	Fouls	16
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
2	Offsides	1
4	Corner Kicks	3
3	Saves	7
62.7	Possession	37.3
20	SHOTS	12
7	ON GOAL	4
0.4	On Target %	0.3
0	Penalty Goals	0
0	Penalty Kicks Taken	0
442	Accurate Passes	229
540	Passes	321
0.8	Pass Completion %	0.7
3	Accurate Crosses	2
24	Crosses	11
0.1	Cross %	0.2
66	Long Balls	45
41	Accurate Long Balls	10
0.6	Long Balls %	0.2
7	Blocked Shots	2
10	Effective Tackles	7
14	Tackles	11
0.7	Tackle %	0.6
0	Interceptions	0
3	Effective Clearances	20
9	Clearances	35

Game Information

Competition: International Friendly

Venue: UPC Arena
Location: ,
Attendance: 15,326

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