Japan cruises as Uzbeks rue unseen goal

SINGAPORE: Asian champions Japan cruised to a 3-0 win over Oman yesterday as Uzbekistan were left to rue an apparent goal which was unseen by officials — underlining the growing case for goal-line technology.
Strikes by CSKA Moscow star Keisuke Honda, Ryoichi Maeda and Shinji Okazaki meant Japan were never troubled by lowly Oman as they made a winning start to the final round of Asian qualifying for Brazil 2014.
But there was drama in Tashkent as Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura missed what seemed a clear-cut goal for Uzbekistan, who then watched in disbelief as visitors Iran snatched a 1-0 win in the dying seconds. Half-an-hour into the second half, Odil Ahmedov’s close-range shot from a goal-mouth melee crossed the line before being blocked by Iranian defender Seyed Hosseini, who also may have used his hand, TV replays indicated.
But the incident went unnoticed by Nishimura and his assistants. The latest in a long line of similar cases comes after world body FIFA tested goal-line technology at England’s friendly against Belgium on Saturday.
And the match finished cruelly for Uzbekistan, who have never reached a World Cup finals, when Iran’s Mohammad Khalatbari raced onto a through ball in the 94th minute and scored the winner in virtually the last kick of the game.
There were no such problems for Japan, who didn’t look back after influential midfielder Honda, back in the international fold after injury, scored the opener on 12 minutes.
Two-time J-League top-scorer Maeda scored via the left upright in the 51st minute, and he had another shot blocked three minutes later only for Stuttgart forward Okazaki to collect the rebound and make it 3-0.
“We were a bit tense at the beginning, but I wanted to win. I’m glad that we won,” said Honda. “I scored the goal as I planned to do. I think we relaxed with that goal.”
Japan dominated throughout the 90 minutes, with Oman limited to a single shot on target through midfielder Fawzi Doorbeen at the end of the first half, and never able to create another clear scoring chance.
A total of 10 Asian countries are split into two groups of five for the continent’s fourth qualifying round, with the group winners and runners-up earning places in Brazil, and the third-placed teams going into play-offs.
“It was our first game, so it was important to get off to a good start,” said Japan’s Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni.
“I think we can play well in the next two games. We were able to concentrate because of the support of so many people at the stadium.”