Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Recife: Alberto Zaccheroni was left lamenting what he felt was an uncharacteristic display after seeing AFC Asian Cup holders Japan slip to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cote d'Ivoire at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil on Saturday.
The Japanese took the lead through Keisuke Honda in the 16th minute before two headers in two minutes from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho – in the 64th and 66th minutes respectively – secured all three points for the African nation.
With Colombia handing Greece a 3-0 defeat in the day's other game in the group, Japan are now playing catch-up in their quest to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.
"Generally speaking we started out quite well and we were dynamic enough at the outset, and then Cote d'Ivoire grew in intensity and they proved to be an excellent team who played beyond our performance," said the Italian.
"In the second half, and in the last 20 minutes of the first half, we were not quick enough to be able to attack our opponents. We let them have too much space and we should have stopped them.
"I have to say that I think Cote d'Ivoire won the match because we allowed them too much space on the flanks. Usually we are pretty quick, but this evening we were far too slow."
The result means Japan now face a crucial meeting with Greece in Natal on June 19, knowing they cannot afford to slip up again if they are to at least match their showing from four years ago in South Africa when they reached the Round of 16.
Zaccheroni plans to assess his own role in the outcome before sitting down to analyse the performances of his players in a game in which Japan shone in the first half, but looked flat and disjointed in the second 45 minutes.
"We know what we need to do normally because when we have done it before we have achieved excellent results, but this evening – above and beyond the excellence of our opponent – we failed to do our part," he said.
"I'm accustomed to starting with myself and I ask myself questions and so now I'm going to think about what I should have done. I think about my performance first and then from there I analyse the performance of my players to make the most of the upcoming matches.
"I expected a different performance and I want to analyse what I did and then I will speak with the players and then, after that, I will know if it's about maturity or something else.
"I think the team is better than this. I've been working with them for four years and they have done better than they did tonight. We will analyse the situation together and then we will determine what went wrong."
Japan now have five days to rejuvenate themselves and Zaccheroni retains confidence in his team's ability to perform despite the disappointment of defeat against the Ivorians.
"We have to keep our morale up and we know we can play better than we did tonight," he said. "I will analyse what we have done but what we have done doesn't matter so much anymore. What matters is what we will do in the coming matches.
"I don't want to defend my team, but the team did try to rectify the situation but they weren't successful because they weren't clear minded enough.
Photo: AFP