Tournament News
'It's okay to be ugly'
2008-10-16 09:04
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Tokyo - Shunsuke Nakamura has blasted Japan for being too "fancy" in their 1-1 home draw with Uzbekistan in a World Cup qualifier.
"It's okay to play ugly sometimes," the 30-year-old midfielder said following Wednesday's draw in Saitama. "Instead of trying to pass the ball around we can use the option of sticking the ball deep into the penalty box."
Nakamura, who left the pitch with blood coming from a split lip after catching a stray elbow, called on Japan to play a more direct style in their remaining 2010 qualifiers.
"We can't afford to be so precise. Uzbekistan's defenders were getting tired just from clearing the ball. It doesn't matter if it's not pretty - we need to be more direct in front of goal."
Forward Yoshito Okubo, who teed up Japan's equaliser for Keiji Tamada, was also critical of the three-times Asian champions, who are currently second behind Australia in Group A.
"We played far too much pretty football," said Okubo.
"We were just passing the ball but there was no end product. We need to be more ruthless. We kept trying to play the extra pass."
Japan's draw also increased the pressure on coach Takeshi Okada, whose second spell in charge has been marked by some less than convincing performances.
The 52-year-old, who led Japan to their first World Cup finals in 1998, returned to the job last December after former coach Bosnian Ivica Osim suffered a stroke.
The top two teams from both of the five-team Asian groups qualify automatically for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.