Asian Cup 2015: Japan star Keisuke Honda vows to be more clinical in front of goal
JAPAN star Keisuke Honda has vowed to be more clinical in front of goal after hitting the woodwork three times in his team’s 1-0 Asian Cup win over Iraq.
JAPAN star Keisuke Honda has vowed to be more clinical in front of goal after hitting the woodwork three times in his team’s 1-0 Asian Cup win over Iraq at Suncorp Stadium.
Honda was deservedly named man-of-the-match, proving a constant menace to the Iraqis in sweltering conditions in Brisbane.
The Milan attacker also scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot as the defending Asian Cup champions took a huge step towards the quarter-finals.
However, Honda admitted he should have netted more goals and promised to take his chances in open play when the Samurai Blue meet Jordan in Melbourne on Tuesday.
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“I will score in the next game,” he said.
“I am happy to make three chances but of course I have to score.”
Honda hit the post in each half as well as rattling the crossbar just after half-time with a sizzling strike.
A draw against Jordan in Melbourne on Tuesday will guarantee Japan — 4-0 winners over Palestine last Monday — a place in the last eight.
It could have been a similar scoreline on Friday night, with Japan too often failing to complete their impressive build-up play with goals.
They had to rely on Honda’s spot kick to maintain their 100 per cent record in the tournament.
Despite their loss, Iraq’s cause is far from lost, with the Lions of Mesopotamia to meet Group D minnows Palestine on Tuesday.
A win over Palestine, thrashed 5-1 by Jordan, is likely to be enough for the Iraqis to reach the quarter-finals.
But they will need to improve their attack, having rarely threatened in the humid Brisbane conditions in front of a healthy crowd of almost 23,000.
The only goal of the game came in the 23rd minute after Honda was crunched by Iraqi pair Ali Adnan and Saad Abdul-Amir as he chased a loose ball in the penalty area after Shinji Kagawa had been denied seconds earlier by goalkeeper Jalal Hassan.
Honda dusted himself off to send Hassan the wrong way and give Japan a deserved lead.
It could have been 2-0 10 minutes later but striker Shinji Okazaki directed his header straight at Hassan.
Despite his side’s inability to inflict a heavier defeat on Iraq, Japan coach Javier Aguirre was satisfied with the performance.
“I am very happy to get the three points and (come away with) no injuries,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre’s future as Japan coach beyond the Asian Cup is in extreme danger, with reports suggesting he would be sacked after the tournament due to being named in a match-fixing scandal during his time coaching Real Zaragoza in Spain.
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Japan star Keisuke Honda vows to be more clinical in front of goal