Date: 14-06-2002
Stage: first round
Place: OSAKA
Running time: 100 min.
Colour: PAL
Quality: HD 1080 30fps (10)
Commentary: MULTI : japanese/italian
My rating: **
Notes: Nakata,Ono,Suzuki, Badra,Clayton
MATCH SUMMARY
Friday, 14 June 2002, 15:30
Osaka Nagai Stadium, Osaka
Attendance: 45,213
Meteo: Mostly clear, 20°C
TUNISIA
Ali Boumnijel
Jose Clayton
Hatem Trabelsi
Raouf Bouzaiene
Khaled Badra (c)
Radhi Jaidi
Selim Ben Achour
Riadh Bouazizi
Kaies Ghodhbane
Mourad Melki
Zied Jaziri
Coach: Ammar Souayah (TUN)
21′ Riadh Bouazizi
81′ Khaled Badra
46′ ↓Mourad Melki ↑Zoubeir Baya
61′ ↓Jose Clayton ↑Imed Mhedhebi
78′ ↓Raouf Bouzaiene ↑Ali Zitouni
JAPAN
Seigo Narazaki
Naoki Matsuda
Koji Nakata
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (c)
Junichi Inamoto
Tomokazu Myojin
Hidetoshi Nakata
Shinji Ono
Kazuyuki Toda
Takayuki Suzuki
Atsushi Yanagisawa
Coach: Philippe Troussier (JPN)
46′ ↓Atsushi Yanagisawa ↑Hiroaki Morishima
46′ ↓Junichi Inamoto ↑Daisuke Ichikawa
84′ ↓Hidetoshi Nakata ↑Mitsuo Ogasawara
Referee: Gillies Veissiere (FRA)
Goals:
48′ Hiroaki Morishima JPN
75′ Hidetoshi Nakata JPN
Match overview
Japan dominated their final group stage match in Osaka with confidence and cohesion. Morishima made an instant impact after the break, breaking the deadlock with a smart finish, and Nakata sealed the win midway through the second half. Tunisia had flashes of energy but were largely contained by Japan’s organised midfield and pressing game. The hosts advanced in style to the knockout rounds, topping their group.
Trivia
This was Japan’s first ever qualification to the knockout stage of a World Cup, achieved on home soil. Morishima’s goal came less than three minutes after coming on as a substitute, making it one of the quickest impact goals in the tournament.
