Japan crush India: 7-0

[rassel]

AFP, Tokyo

Japan crushed India while South Korea and China both re-corded easy vic-tories as Asian football's big guns all moved a step closer to the 2006 World Cup on Wednesday.
India, footballing novices who have never come close to qualifying for the World Cup, found a rampant Japan too hot to handle in Group 3 as they slumped to a 7-0 defeat at the Saitama Stadium.

South Korea, meanwhile, bidding for a sixth consecutive appearance in the World Cup finals, defeated Vietnam 2-0 while China trounced Malaysia 4-0.

Japan's victory saw the Asian champions maintain their 100 percent start to preliminary qualifying after earlier wins over Oman and Singapore, who play in Muscat later Wednesday.

Tatsuhiko Kubo, Takashi Fuku-nishi, Shunsuke Nakamura, Takayuki Suzuki, Mitsuo Ogasawara and Yuki Nakazawa (2) all got on the scoresheet for Japan to the delight of Brazilian coach Zico.

The scoreline might not have been as emphatic but South Korea were just as convincing as they outclassed Vietnam to stay on top of Group 7.

Ahn Jung-Hwan, one of the heroes of South Korea's march to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, opened the scoring on the half-hour before midfielder Kim Do-Heon added the second in the 62nd minute.

The result erased memories of South Korea's last outing against Vietnam eight months ago when they fell to a shock 1-0 defeat in an Asian Cup qualifier.

That upset set in motion a string of setbacks that included defeat to Oman and a draw to lowly Maldives in March that triggered the abrupt departure in April of coach Humberto Coelho of Portugal.

He has yet to be replaced but there was no danger of another below-par performance Wednes-day as a strong South Korean side dominated the game throughout. South Korea lead the group with seven points from three matches.

Meanwhile, in a Group Five qualifier in Bangkok, North Korea trampled on Thailand's hopes with an emphatic 4-1 away win, featuring a brace of goals from Kim Yong-Su.

In a Group Eight encounter in Jakarta, Indonesia edged out Sri Lanka 1-0 thanks to a first-half strike by Elie Aiboy.

Great going by mighty India!

[abhs]

So, we are better than India! (Let's forget SAF games result )

So far I remember, Our largest defeat against Japan was 0-6.

[AsifTheManRahman]

No it was 0-8 when I was a small kid...

anyways, this was just another display of how harsh the game of soccer can be at times, on the team that plays better. the japanese were clearly lucky, and luck was the only thing that did not favour the indians, whose powerful shots from the midfield missed the Japanese bar posts by a mere ten yards or so.

all throughout the match, the indians kept a tight defense, and the japanese had to struggle real hard for their goals. the indians played according to their new "give away" strategy, i.e. they ensured that the japanese had the ball in their position most of the time, while they themselves made sure that their own penalty box was safe. however, on a few very unlucky occassions, their defense was torn apart, and the japanese scored off pretty feeble shots, that, unfortunately, the goal keeper couldn't stop.

anyways, this loss has charged the players up, and they are now preparing for the next world cup qualifiers, which they are sure to ace and go on to the finals to win; after all, they were the hot favourites this time.

[Carte Blanche]

Where is Amit?

[rassel]

nicely elaborated by asif!

Wish there were little masters to help them out in this wretched situation.

[AsifTheManRahman]

india was allowed to play in a world cup final once upon a time right? i think it was right after their independence...they probably didn't play because they did not have the money to bye boots...or was it because they hated playing with boots on? i don't quite remember...

[Tehsin]

For a second there, I thought Asif was on crack.

[rassel]

Originally posted by tehsin
For a second there, I thought Asif was on crack.

[Shehwar]

Dear Asif,
I honestly don’t have any intentions of offending you. With all due respect to your football knowledge, India was never a favorite in the match against Japan. Before that match they had been humiliated 5-1 by Oman that too at home!!! They never really had a realistic chance of even reaching the second stage of Asian qualifiers let alone The World Cup. As we all know, only the group champions will go through to the next round which undoubtedly will be Japan. South Asia has the worst football standard in the World and even there India never really dictated terms on a regular basis. These favorite tags are the exaggeration of their FAMOUS (!!!) media. They have a long---long---long way to go just to reach the Asian standards let alone World Cup! No offence meant bro..Take care.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Well Shehwar
You missed the sarcasm in my post. I was practising "Amitting", a style adopted by modern day Indian sports writers. This term has a long history, and it's adoption had started long before you even started posting on this forum. The post in question was made when discussion on "Amitting" was at it's peak on this site. I'll post the link for your convenience.

[Edited on 21-6-2004 by AsifTheManRahman]

[AsifTheManRahman]

Hope this helps...Enjoy!

[Shehwar]

Awright....yeah that link did help a lot..Thanx bro...I got that now...Infact on second thought...since now i know wot 'amitting' is...ur article was a very well written one...lol....take care..

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

jaihok,
amar mone hoi na india has a bright future in football. i think it is better for them to focus in cricket. dannabad.

[rassel]

You can say that again Faltu-Bhai!

[200SX]

its really unbeliveable tht japan crushed india like tht.........

[AsifTheManRahman]

well sx, it's not really unbeliveable...india sucks in football, with a stress on the word "sucks". they can't even beat bangladesh - what do u expect?

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

ji bhai,
asif apni kintu thiki bolechen india is actually not good in football. oi beta amit na ki nam oh chara ar keo khub akta bhalo khele na. and the only time they beat us is jokhon ora chorami kore tokhon. dannabad.

[200SX]

india always depend on fluke to win the match.........

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

exactly 200sx bhai....

[Shehwar]

Yup….We are definitely better than India in Football…We just don’t have their kinda media coverage…They make their third class players look like Gods bringing them in Sportsline ‘n all that…It’s so annoying when u consider that we are at the same level and hardly get any coverage..!

[AsifTheManRahman]

Actually I feel that with Baichung in their team, we don't stand a chance against them; however, Baichunger english second division khelte khelte ebong espn e commentary dite dite desher jonno khelar time nai.

[Shehwar]

Our Shabbir was a thousand times better than Their Baichung…I can bet my life on that !!!

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

humm shewar bhai,
actually we have produced players with similar standards with baichung bhutiya. ashole akhonkar duniyay media is a very important factor. you have to be in the spolight. if not doesnt matter how good you are you wont get any praise because no one will no you. ar india is a big country. tader deshe media ebong sponsor ar obhabh nai. tai tara choto kisu korleo golabaji kore bolte pare jeta amra korte pari na. dannabad.

[AsifTheManRahman]

india jokhon knock out world cup e australia ke haraisilo...just that one match...bas....espn star sportse sharadin ad..."We congratulate the Indian team for their fine victory over the World Champions..." r ki emotional ad...mane...ekta match e jitsilo...200 bochor por...

[reverse_swing]

[i]Baichunger english second division khelte khelte

actually he first attended a trial in Aston Villa.But they rejected him.Then he joined
the Second Division English club Bury.Here 2nd division means our 3rd division. Premiership is the main league.Then League one & League Two.



[Edited on 26-6-2004 by reverse_swing]