Preview

It was time for the first match-up between the two expected group favourites. Both Japan and North Korea had so far tackled the two ‘minnows’, Hong Kong and Indonesia, away from home, with today’s visitors having the upper hand on the Japanese following their 2-1 win in Hong Kong the previous weekend, whereas Japan had only managed successive 0-0 draws. We’ve had the fortune of being able to cover Japan’s pair of away fixtures, although it is fair to say that they hadn’t set the qualification group alight thus far. Their standing in international football was fairly mediocre. A win here, however, would give them a major boost ahead of their remaining qualifiers, as they were looking at three successive home ties, with Indonesia and Hong Kong to come during the next couple of weeks. 

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	North Korea	2	1	1	0	2	1	3
2	Japan	2	0	2	0	0	0	2
2	Indonesia	2	0	2	0	0	0	2
4	Hong Kong	2	0	1	1	1	2	1

It is likely that Japan would need to win these three home matches in order to stand a chance of progressing to the next qualification phase. This is North Korea’s final away fixture, and today’s visitors would round the qualification group off with a trio of home ties of their own. A draw here would set them up very nicely for their remaining set. 

The referee is 44 years old and comes from the Gulf state of Bahrain. His name is Jassim Abdul-Rahman Mandi, and this is his second match as a referee in the ongoing World Cup qualification. He’d previously run the rule over Jordan against Iraq in AFC Group 1. Presumably, Mandi’s greatest moment as an official came during the football tournament at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea, where he was one of the linesmen during the very final between the Soviet Union and Brazil (2-1). 

Japan boss Kenzo Yokoyama had for the third qualifier running made a single change to his side, and again it was to the same midfield position where he’d previously featured two different players. While Katsumi Oenoki had appeared in the central left midfield berth in their opening tie in Hong Kong, he had then been replaced by Satoru Mochizuki for the scoreless draw in Jakarta. On this occasion, it is Takafuma Mizunuma who is coming into that same midfield spot. He’d come on as a substitute late in both of their two first qualifiers. 

Yokoyama’s adversary in the North Korean dug-out had also kept faith with most of his players from their opening two qualifiers, though his biggest concern so far would seem to lie with his forwards. For the third successive qualifier they had now made changes up front, with Kim Pung-il being brought in for his first appearance since the start of the qualification. Han Hyong-il, his strike partner, had played in their opener, but not during their 2-1 win in Hong Kong, where their two goals, which had both come early doors, had been scored by players from their five man strong midfield. 

Among the five players on the North Korean substitutes’ bench, there is no replacement goalkeeper. 

Japan (3-5-2)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
1 Shigetatsu Matsunaga (c)		26
2 Katsuyoshi Shinto		28
5 Tetsuji Hashiratani		24
6 Takumi Horiike		23
7 Masami Ihara		21
8 Takashi Mizunuma		29
9 Masaaki Mori	sub 62′	27
10 Masanao Sasaki		26
16 Mitsunori Yoshida		27
17 Osamu Maeda	sub 85′	23
23 Kenta Hasegawa		23

Substitutes
19 Shinichi Morishita		28
3 Tomoyuki Kajino	on 62′	28
12 Atsushi Natori		27
13 Satoru Mochizuki		25
21 Hisashi Kurosaki	on 85′	21

Manager: Kenzo Yokoyama

North Korea (3-5-2)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
1 Kim Chi-won		21
2 Kim Gwang-min		26
3 Oh Yong-nam (c)	70′	28
4 Kim Pung-il	sub 81′
5 Tak Yong-bin		27
7 Han Hyong-il	84′	29
9 Yun Jong-soo		27
11 Ri Jong-man		30
13 Kim Chang-kyo
14 Chang Gum-chol
17 Pang Gwang-chol	80′	18

Substitutes
6 An Ji-hyok	on 81′
12
15
18
19

Manager: Pak Doo-ik

Tactical line-ups

Match report

First half: 

There is possibly some tension and adrenaline running through the visiting side, as forward Pung-il is too quick to cross the halfway line as Japan are attempting to kick the game into life through their pair of forwards Yoshida and Maeda. The referee orders a restart, and within five seconds, North Korean left-sided player Jong-soo has clattered into Japan’s right-sided man Mori with plenty of force. This sees the latter left in a heap on the floor, and he’ll need to be attended to by members of the medical staff. Jong-soo should count himself lucky to not have had his name taken right from the word ‘go’. Fortunately, Mori is able to dust himself off and continue, though he had clearly felt pain as he’d been steamrollered. 

The game’s early phase is almost like an exercise in stand-offishness from both sides. Both are being extremely cautious, there is very little pace or effort in the opening ten minutes, and it is quite odd to watch. That said, the pitch is dry and hard, and has a big patch of brown either side of the halfway line, and you can see how the players struggle to get the ball under control properly in these areas. One could perhaps have imagined how the home side would go out and take charge, but even more so than the North Korean visitors, the Japanese are being reluctant to commit men forward. Inside the opening ten minutes, the away side, clad in all white, have three efforts on goal from around the same area, 25-30 yards out, all shots which reach the hosts’ custodian along the ground, and so cause Matsunaga zero concern. 

Japan remain passive as the half progresses, and they are fortunate not to have been punished severely by the visitors by the 20 minute mark. While neither of the North Koreans’ early efforts from a distance had been a threat to captain Matsunaga’s clean sheet, the away side then go on to produce a couple of opportunities from which they could have scored. On 12 minutes there’s a warning call when striker Pung-il fires a left-footed shot just wide from 20 yards, and two minutes later there’s a massive goalscoring chance for his fellow striker Hyong-il, who is played in after a long cross field pass from Jong-soo. The forward, however, after receiving the ball kindly to the right inside the area, takes too long to get his shot away, and so Horiike does a terrific job at getting a block in to divert the ball away for a right wing corner. And then, on 20 minutes, an even bigger opportunity, this time for Jong-soo, who has been played in on goal, and his low shot towards the bottom left corner is saved by Matsunaga’s feet. The North Koreans must be ruing their lack off efficiency in front of goal. 

Towards the half hour mark, things are at last starting to look a bit more promising for the hosts. They are able to keep possession in the centre of the park, although they struggle to impose themselves on the North Korean defence, which looks a tidy and well organized unit. Japan’s midfield hasn’t really made any worthwhile attacking contributions so far, leaving the front two somewhat isolated up top. Hasegawa is typically the more attacking player in this Japanese constellation, but the North Korean midfield have kept him quiet hitherto. 

Japan

Tactically, the hosts line up in rather similar fashion to what we had seen from them in their two away fixtures prior to taking on the North Koreans. They were captained by goalkeeper Matsunaga, who may really only have had that Jong-soo shot to deal with so far, but he’s surely a vital man behind the three central defenders, among whom Ihara is the central player. We can hear the Japanese commentators dub him the team libero in their pre-match run-through of the line-ups, and 21 year young Ihara accepts plenty of responsibility, working with Horiike to his left and Shinto typically to his right. Ihara seems to have well developed skills in terms of moving forward and picking out a more forward-positioned team mate, as well as being a sound reader of the game. Both Shinto and Horiike are fairly committed central defenders. 

Probably the least involved player in the opening half hour is left-sided man Sasaki, who appears to struggle to find his position. Along the right hand side, at least Mori, who was butchered right after kick-off, but who got himself up and continued as if nothing had happened, is involved to some extent, although Japan typically involve more central players in their build-up. Hashiratani sits at the base of the midfield, but didn’t look particularly convincing in the first 20 minutes plus, when the North Koreans on several occasions made their way forward. Mizunuma to his slightly advanced left sits deeper in his role than Hasegawa as the inside right midfield man. This also contributes to the Japanese looking tail heavy for the first part of the opening half. 

The pair of home forwards are, as seen both in Hong Kong and in Indonesia, Yoshida and Maeda. They’re being closely monitored by each their opponent, and since they also have received precious little support thus far, neither striker has been able to make their presence felt. Japan will need an improved collective effort to be able to pose problems to the visitors. 

There is no real pace to the game as we approach the final ten minutes of the first half, and with North Korea by now content with sitting back and preserving what they’ve got, questions are being asked of the home side and their need for creative thinking. While they appear more confident having been able to maintain possession for a few minutes, they still appear to have no idea of how to unlock the visiting defence. Sasaki, who had been so sparingly used, came into a couple of crossing positions, but from deep down his left hand flank, all he could do was lift the ball high into the centre of the area, where the North Korean goalkeeper patrolled well and picked the ball out of the air. 

North Korea 

This is our first viewing of the North Koreans in this World Cup qualification. Their tactical shape isn’t unlike the Japaneses’, both lining up in 3-5-2 formations.

At the back is steady goalkeeper Chi-won, who has seen only one effort towards his goal inside the opening 35 minutes, with Japan central defender Horiike’s shot from 25 yards well over his bar, is having a relatively calm afternoon so far. His commanding of the penalty box must instil confidence in those around him, and he is not afraid to jump with opponents in his vicinity. He has team captain Yong-nam as the central player among the three central defenders. The skipper is without marking duties, and is confident enough to wander across the halfway line on a couple of occasion, having even had that shot goalwards early on. The pair of marking central defenders are Gwang-chol to the right of the captain and Gum-chol to Yong-nam’s left. 

Whether a formation is defined as 3-5-2 or indeed 5-3-2 obviously has a lot to do with how deep or how forward the two wide players in these systems appear. While for the North Koreans right-sided man Gwang-min is clearly more defensively orientated than his counterpart Jong-soo along the left, the former among the pair also contributes to an extent in coming forward, at least in the opening 22-23 minutes or so, when North Korea are demonstrating a certain desire to turn the home side over. As for Jong-soo, he soon calmed down after having clattered into his opponent inside the opening five seconds, and he had done well to come across and into a goalscoring position when he drew that save from Matsunaga. Clearly a useful player is their left-sided midfielder. 

Sitting at the deep end in the centre of their midfield is Jong-man, through whom quite a lot is directed as they seek to mount from the back. While they appear fairly one-paced when passing the ball among themselves in midfield, they do also have that ability to attack with sudden bursts of pace, something which their two somewhat more attacking midfielders, Yong-bin and Chang-kyo, were prone to. In general, the North Korean midfield seemed the stronger initially, but withered away towards the latter stages of the opening 45 minutes. That must have been a worry for manager Doo-ik. 

Both forwards had introduced themselves during that opening 20 minutes period when the visitors were on top, and while neither boasted particularly impressive frames in terms of brute physique, both Pung-il and Hyong-il were willing runners and tried to keep the opposing defenders on their toes throughout as they looked for spaces to exploit. 

Japan maintain the upper hand through to half time, after the North Korean goalkeeper had displayed rather the opposite than an ability to command his area from a high up and under by Mori, where the visiting #1 failed to get a hand to the ball thanks to Maeda’s challenge (upon which the ball just drifted wide). Almost a minute into injury time, Japan come inches away from taking the lead when Hashiratani mounts from the back, plays the ball out wide to Sasaki, who certainly was more involved towards the latter stages of the first half, though while his cross only reached Yong-nam, the North Korean captain sliced his clearance, which fell invitingly for the onrushing Mizunuma 20 yards out. His spectacular scissor-kick style shot smashed off the crossbar after Chi-won had got his fingertips to the ball. It really was an effort that had deserved a better fate, but the ‘keeper must be credited for the save.

Goalless at half time. It should also be noticed that the visitors had been playing with a noticeable wind behind them during the first 45 minutes. Perhaps had this inflicted on North Korea bossing the opening 22-23 minutes, before Japan settled and gradually took over the initiative. 

Second half: 

There had been no changes in personnel during the interval, and so the same 22 players were back on to the pitch for the start of the final 45 minutes. The visitors would get the ball rolling, as they were facing the wind in this second half. 

The two teams seem fairly evenly matched. In the early phases of the second half, they both have spells of dominating possession. The North Koreans are the fastest out of the starting blocks, applying some neat interpassing in order to pin the hosts back, although they continue to lack penetration up top. Their first opportunity comes on 48 minutes, when the home side fail to properly clear a cross from Chang-kyo, as Matsunaga’s punch only reaches as far as Yong-bin, whose effort is blocked, and then centre-back Gum-chol follows up with a shot which clears the bar by some distance. 

Japan look stronger again after that initial period of promise for the North Koreans, and they look a better side once their left hand side gets going. We had seen in the latter stages of the opening 45 minutes how left-sided man Sasaki had come more into the game, being set up with greater frequency by his team mates, and also with Mizunuma inside of him engaging in play higher up the pitch rather than coming back deep inside his own half to pick the ball up. Equipped with two sound feet, Mizunuma is a fine outlet, and he is particularly useful at set-pieces, and two left wing corners swung in with his right foot caused some stir in the North Korean lines, as the first attempt, wind assisted, just drifted beyond everyone’s reach and past the far post for a goal kick, while Hashiratani got up to head the second corner just over on 53 minutes. 

Another attacking weapon which the hosts are making use of is the long throw by forward Maeda. This is particularly fruitful thanks to the windy conditions, as he reaches almost the centre of Chi-won’s six yard area. The North Koreans are not a distinctly tall side, but their defenders jump and cover well, and they’ve so far only conceded that opportunity to Hashiratani from set-piece play. 

It is a bit of a stretch to say that the game’s littered with quality, but the two teams do what they’re capable of on the hard and in places uneven pitch. There’s little in terms of a free-flowing, attacking brand of football, but what forward cohesion can be seen typically comes from the home side as they make better use of the width. However, Mori’s no longer as prolific down his right hand side as he had been in spells during the first half, but both Shinto and Ihara can be seen making advance down that flank. Along the left, Sasaki remains an attacking outlet. Forwards Maeda and Yoshida can’t capitalize, as the quality of the final ball keeps letting the hosts down.

Just after the hour mark we see the game’s first substitution, with Mori departing and Tomoyuki Kajino replacing him. Mori had gradually drifted out of the game, rarely making his trademark progressive runs along the right hand side, something which could well indicate that he’d picked up a knock. We remember how he’d been scythed down almost before the game had even begun, and perhaps had he been feeling the effects of Jong-soo’s wild lunge. Kajino, 28, was no stranger to the international scene, and had featured in Japan’s first qualifier in Hong Kong. With the substitute usually a centre-back, he would slot into the centre, with Shinto moving into Mori’s right-sided position. 

The visitors are making increasing use of physique as the game develops into something of a battle when we’ve progressed past the midway point of the second half. Despite their relatively modest size throughout the team, the North Koreans are not shy of putting themselves about. Earlier in the half Hasegawa had felt the brunt of a stern challenge, and after Pung-il is seemingly denied a penalty following a reckless Sasaki attempt to get to the ball inside his own area, visiting captain Yong-nam goes in hard on Yoshida near the halfway line after Japan’s left-sided defender cum midfielder has cleared the ball. Referee Mandi has kept himself in the background for the first 70 minutes, wisely allowing the two teams to take centre stage, but there’s no way he’s letting Yong-nam off the hook for the foul from behind on Yoshida. 

On 72 minutes comes the breakthrough as North Korea open the scoring through a very well worked goal. Jong-soo and Gwang-min combine for the latter to progress in an advanced inside right position, until he looks up and picks out forward Pung-il to the right outside the Japanese penalty area. The striker pins a perfect cross for Jong-soo to elegantly guide his header into the left of Matsunaga’s goal, easily defeating the ball-watching Shinto in the air in the process. The sizeable North Korean contingent in the stands goes wild, much like their players, who end up in a heap on the floor in celebration of their well-crafted goal. 0-1, and should the scoreline remain through to the full time whistle, the visitors will have taken a huge step towards qualification for the next phase. 

In a matter of a couple of minutes, Japan are level. Again they arrive along the left hand side, where Sasaki is making advance, and he uses his pace to get past Gwang-min to swing in a cross which is met by that man Mizunuma. He hits it sweetly first time as he arrives eight yards out between Gwang-chol and Yong-nam to direct his finish beyond the reach of Chi-won and into the back of the net. Japan have their first goal in the qualification, and it is a hugely vital one, as a home loss to the North Koreans couldn’t have been tolerated. It was a fine run into the area and a terrific finish with the same left foot with which he’d struck the bar late on in the first half. On this occasion the visitors’ young goalkeeper didn’t stand a chance. 

The hosts are with their tails up in the wake of their equalizer, and they immediately set their sights on another goal to really get a more firm grip of the qualification group. They seem to bring more players into attack, and we also see their forwards, in particular Maeda, working the channels. On one such occasion he picks out his strike partner Yoshida with a cross from the right, although the latter can only glance his header straight into the arms of the goalkeeper as he’s challenged by Gwang-chol. Then there’s Mizunuma bursting forward. The goalscorer is strong in possession, and he makes it all the way to the edge of the North Korean penalty area before he tries to feed Hasegawa, who has also joined the attack. The pass is a poor one, and is easily picked up by central defender Gum-chol, and the promising attack breaks down. 

North Korea chief Doo-ik has seen enough to decide that he wants to withdraw one of his strikers for a midfielder with around ten minutes left for play. Pung-il, who had provided the assist for their goal, is taken off, and on comes An Ji-hyok to take up a midfield berth. They appear to go 5-4-1 in an attempt to bolster their chances of a draw, which will be a very good result from their perspective. There’s also a couple of bookings for the visitors in addition to the one which their captain had earlier picked up: Gwang-chol fouls Yoshida from behind and is rewarded with a yellow card of his own, while forward Hyong-il gets his caution six minutes from time after he fails to retreat the necessary distance from a Japanese free-kick 26-27 yards out. While the decision to award the hosts the free-kick had been dubious in the first place, there was no leniency for protests as far as the Bahraini official was concerned. Hasegawa fired the subsequent effort along the ground and into Chi-won’s expecting arms. 

The game is finely poised as it enters its final few minutes, and the North Koreans look to have weathered whatever the hosts had thrown at them. Perhaps is there a feeling of courage creeping into their play as they move a number of players deep into Japan’s territory for a throw-in along the left hand side. They proceed to lose the ball thanks to Hasegawa’s incessant harassing of opponents, and the home side break quickly. Their charge is led by Hasegawa, who has Mizunuma with him, and the pair interchange passes, for the former to hit the ball first time into the area for Yoshida to challenge in the air. While the striker doesn’t get to it, North Korea skipper Yong-nam does, but he only contrives to head it helplessly over his own goalkeeper and into the back of the net for an 88th minute goal. 2-1 now to the hosts, who look to be celebrating two hugely important points ahead of the run-in. 

The Japanese had made a final substitution in retiring the weary Maeda for the taller Kurosaki on 85 minutes. He had come on for the final few minutes in Jakarta, so this was his second appearance of the ongoing qualification. He was obviously a different type of player than his predecessor, and brought more physical presence. While it hadn’t paid off directly, he had played his role in the goal as he would engage one of the North Korean central defenders. 

There was to be no comeback for the visitors, as they could not mount a final push to try and rescue a point. They looked stunned in the wake of that second home goal, and so seeing the game out, with an additional two minutes at the end, was hardly a great challenge for the hosts. Players and fans alike erupted with joy at the sound of the final whistle, and they had secured two points which could prove to be invaluable by the end of the first qualification phase. Yokoyama had hardly been able to watch the game at all after their second goal went in, although he seemed to oppress his emotions upon the final whistle, perhaps as a token of respect towards his North Korean counterpart. 

Conclusion:

The teams took some time to get going, though the hosts did look passive in the opening twenty-something minutes, and North Korea could have gone ahead through Jong-soo, but for Matsunaga’s parry. Japan gradually came into the game, and rounded the opening half off the stronger, with Mizunuma’s spectacular strike tipped on to the bar late on. Mastering the tricky pitch better than their counterparts, the home side went about their business in the second half, though they did find themselves behind thanks to a well worked opener by the North Koreans. The leveller came only a couple of minutes after, and it was an equally fine goal. The visitors were trying to take the sting out of the game towards the end, but captain Yong-nam was the unfortunate player to guide a header into his own net for Japan to seal a priceless two points. 

Player ratings

Japan: 
1 Matsunaga 7.0
2 Shinto 6.8
5 Hashiratani 7.1
6 Horiike 7.0
7 Ihara 6.9
8 Mizunuma 7.4
9 Mori 6.7
(3 Kajino 6.8)
10 Sasaki 7.1
16 Yoshida 7.3
17 Maeda 7.1
(21 Kurosaki -)
23 Hasegawa 7.1

North Korea:
1 Chi-won 7.0
2 Gwang-min 6.7
3 Yong-nam 6.9
4 Pung-il 6.8
(6 Ji-hyok -)
5 Yong-bin 6.4
7 Hyong-il 6.6
9 Jong-soo 6.9
11 Jong-man 6.9
13 Chang-kyo 6.5
14 Gum-chol 6.7
17 Gwang-chol 6.8