Uzbekistan 1-1 Japan
Tashkent, 6 September 2011
Scorers: Djeparov 8, Okazaki 65

UFWC champions Japan retained their title, but were pushed close by an impressive Uzbekistan side who could easily have won this match and ruined Japan’s fun. Shinji Okazaki was the goalscoring hero, but it was another tenacious team effort from Japan that extended their reign as champions.

In addition to being a UFWC title match, this was also a World Cup qualifier – the second Asian group C match for each side. Both Japan and Uzbekistan had won their previous matches 1-0, against North Korea and Tajikistan respectively. North Korea beat Tajikistan 1-0 in another group match earlier today.

Still without Keisuke Honda, who had knee surgery at the end of last week and will be out of action for three weeks, Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni pushed Shinji Okasaki up to support Tadanari Lee rather than Yosuke Kashiwagi, who was dropped from the team.

Uzbekistan coach Vadim Abramov, who had earlier joked that Japan team was ‘a simple team’, went with Alexander Geynrikh up front, with support in midfield from Odil Ahmedov and team captain Server Djeparov. There was no room for veteran former Dynamo Kiev striker Maksim Shatskikh, who scored the goal against Tajikistan, but was left on the bench.

The game started brightly, and its fast pace rarely let up. Both sides pushed forward, but Uzbekistan’s dynamic midfield dominated the early stages, and created the crucial early breakthrough in the eighth minute. A long shot thudded against Eiji Kawashima’s right-hand post, the ball was knocked back into the penalty area, and Djeparov arrived to sweep a volley past the Japanese keeper. The Uzbek captain celebrated with a somersault. It was 1-0 to the challengers.

Japan continued to get the ball forward, but struggled against the Uzbek’s strong defence. A rare chance fell to Lee on 14 minutes, but the striker hit the post and the ball was cleared.

Uzbekistan continued to stand strong in defence and threaten in attack, and almost scored an incredible goal midway through the first half, when Viktor Karpenko got on the end of a long high ball not too far from Japan’s corner flag and hit an astonishing dipping volley that had to be clawed away from under the crossbar by Kawashima.

For Japan, Yuichi Komano got forward from the left back position to strike a shot through legs that Ignatiy Nesterov did well to hold in the Uzbek goal. Then, at the other end, Ahmedov drove a fierce shot over the Japanese crossbar.

In the final stages of the first half, Okazaki went down under a challenge from Nesterov, but didn’t have any claim for a penalty, then Timur Kapedze fired a low shot across the Japanese goal. Then, in the last few seconds, Lee controlled a high ball and hit a left-foot shot that again struck the Uzbek post.

The second half was less frantic in pace, and with less chances. Shinji Kagawa headed over the bar for Japan, and Geynrikh fired over for Uzbekistan. Nesterov continued to dominate his penalty area, claiming any high balls that Japan fired in. Then the Uzkeks created two good chances – Djeparov seeing his shot blocked on the edge of the box, and Kapadze breaking through only to see Kawashima smother his shot.

Then, on 65 minutes, Japan found an equaliser – Shinji Okazaki meeting a Atsuto Uchida cross with a brave diving header that forced the ball beyond Nesterov into the back of the net. 1-1, and this UFWC title match was all square.

Zaccheroni replaced a visibly upset Lee, who had toiled up front without much luck, with Mike Havenaar, and the big striker had two half chances, placing a shot and a header straight into the keeper. Uzbekistan had a better chance, though, with Djeparov sent clean through, only to roll his shot straight at Kawashima. For Japan, a Kagawa cross-shot that threatened to dip under Nesterev’s goal was punched away by the keeper, but there were no more goals.

The final score was 1-1. The Uzbeks hadn’t quite managed to keep up the pace displayed in their impressive first half, and Japan’s tenacity had eventually paid off. Japan retain the UFWC title and remain Unofficial Football World Champions.

Japan’s next UFWC title match is a home friendly against Vietnam on 7 October. Vietnam has never participated in the UFWC before. Japan, meanwhile, are now in 20th position in the all-time UFWC rankings table, having gone 13 matches unbeaten as Unofficial Football World Champions.

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Match Reports japan, Uzbekistan

Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 to qualify for World Cup, June 2008, photo by tpower1978, Flickr

Uzbekistan vs Japan
Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium,
Tashkent
6 September 2011,
1900 local (1500 BST)

On Tuesday, UFWC champions Japan will attempt to defend their title against new challengers Uzbekistan in a UFWC title match / WC qualifier. Japan have now gone 12 games unbeaten as champions, and narrowly defeated North Korea courtesy of an injury time Maya Yoshida header in the last title match on Friday. This away match is likely to be a trickier test. An impressive Asian Cup performance means that Uzbekistan are hardly an unknown quantity. But they are newcomers to the UFWC, so what can Japan expect from the latest challengers?

Part of the former Soviet Union, the land-locked country borders with Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Independence was claimed in 1991. Capital city Tashkent is 3,700 miles west of Tokyo. So it’s a huge journey for the Japanese team. Could that have a bearing on the result?

Uzbekistan has never participated in the UFWC before, although if you follow the UFWC spin-offs you’ll know that the county did hold the unofficial Asian title going into January’s Asian Cup – a tournament that was, of course, won by Japan. The Uzbeks did pretty well in Qatar, beating the hosts 2-0, and Kuwait 3-0, then drawing 2-2 with China to top their group. A 2-1 win over Jordan saw the side progress to the semi-final stage, only to be thrashed 6-0 by a very impressive Australia. The Uzbeks lost 3-2 to South Korea in the third place play-off, and so finished fourth overall.

Since then, the Uzbeks have been beaten by Montenegro, Ukraine and China. However, the nation’s last three matches have all been victories – a 4-0 and a 3-0 against Kyrgyzstan in the previous round of WC qualifying, and then, in Friday’s group match, a 1-0 win over Tajikistan. There was trouble ahead of the match in Tajikistan as crowds of fans attempted to break through a police cordon in order to gain admittance to the sold-out arena in Tursunzade. The match wasn’t being shown on TV in deference to a political summit, and fans were desperate to see the game.

Uzbekistan and Japan have met seven times before, with five wins for Japan, and two draws. Japan fans may recall their side’s 8-1 victory over Uzbekistan – the Uzbeks’ biggest ever loss – in October 2000. The last meeting, in Tashkent in June 2009, was another World Cup Qualifier. Japan won 1-0 to clinch qualification, with Shinji Okazaki scoring the goal. So Uzbekistan has never beaten Japan. Could this be the first time?

The Uzbek coach is Vadim Abramov, who took over the reigns last year after five years as assistant. Veteran striker Maksim Shatskikh is the nation’s all-time top scorer with 34 goals. The 33-year-old Arsenal Kyiv player scored the only goal against Tajikistan on Friday – netting a rebound after having a penalty kick saved.

Japan will also need to be aware of Suwon Bluewings attacking midfielder Alexander Geynrikh, who was the Uzbek’s top scorer at the Asian Cup. Defensive midfielder Odil Ahmedov, of FC Anzhi, can get forward and score goals, and team captain Server Djeparov of Al-Shabab is another midfielder with an eye for goal.

As for Japan, we can expect Alberto Zaccheroni to pick a similar team to the one that defeated North Korea, still without the injured Keisuke Honda, and with Yosuke Kashiwagi replacing him behind Tadanari Lee. Chikashi Masuda has been added to the squad since Friday to provide extra cover in midfield. Striker Mike Havenaar, who made his debut from the bench on Friday, will hope to get another run out.

The match kicks off at 7pm local time, which is 3pm in London and 11pm in Tokyo. As usual, we’ll be providing full coverage right here.

You can also watch a free and legal live stream of the match via Bet365, subject to restrictions in your country. Just click on the link below. You’ll need to create an account if you don’t already have one, but you don’t need to make a bet. If you do open an account and decide to make a deposit of £10 or more, you’ll be entitled to up to £200 in free bets.

So, can Japan retain the UFWC title? Twelve matches unbeaten is a remarkable record, and the win against North Korea pushed the team into the all-time top 20 UFWC rankings. A win against Uzbekistan would extend the run to 13 games, and push Japan clear of Colombia and Romania in the rankings. But the trip to Uzbekistan will not be an easy one. Can Uzbekistan make a name for themselves in world soccer and become Unofficial Football World Champions? All that is certain is that another exciting UFWC title match awaits.

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Match Previews japan, Uzbekistan