Asian Cup 2015: Japan sink Palestine, reigning champions too strong for newcomers

DEFENDING champions Japan thrashed Palestine 4-0 in their Asian Cup opener on Monday, giving them the perfect start in their quest for a fifth title.

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 12: Japan players celebrate a goal during the 2015 Asian Cup match between Japan and Palestine at Hunter Stadium on January 12, 2015 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

DEFENDING champions Japan thrashed Palestine 4-0 in their Asian Cup opener on Monday, giving them the perfect start in their quest for a fifth title.

The Blue Samurai, who won the tournament for a record fourth time in 2011, needed only eight minutes to take the lead against a Palestine team making their first appearance in Asia’s showcase competition.

Yasuhito Endo, making his 149th appearance for Japan, rifled a shot into the bottom corner, goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh going down in instalments to gift the J-League player of the year his 15th international goal.

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Keisuke Honda scores from the penalty spot.

Shinji Okazaki, who has been in a rich vein of form for German club Mainz, scored with a poacher’s strike in the 25th minute, reacting with razor-sharp reflexes to head in a volley from Shinji Kagawa which looked to be fizzing wide.

Keisuke Honda, Japan’s bleach-blond cult hero, then stroked home a penalty just before half-time before defender Maya Yoshida nodded in a fourth as the floodgates threatened to burst open.

There was a strong contingent of Palestinian supporters in Newcastle.

But Japan coach Javier Aguirre, currently embroiled in a match-fixing scandal linked to his time as manager of Zaragoza in 2011, opted to save legs for his side’s next two Group D games against Iraq and Jordan as the holders eased off the gas in the latter stages.

Palestine, whose preparations for tournaments are invariably disrupted by political turmoil in their war-torn homeland, were barely given a sniff by a well-drilled Japan backline marshalled by Southampton centre-back Yoshida.

Murad Said of Palestine looks dejected after the game.

Aguirre, however, bellowed at his players from the touchline as their concentration levels dropped off significantly towards the end of the game.

The Mexican, whose honeymoon period came to an abrupt end after a poor run of performances, is under intense pressure to lift the trophy following Japan’s World Cup flop last year under Alberto Zaccheroni.

FULL TIME:JAPAN 4 (Yasuhito Endo 8, Shinji Okazaki 25, Keisuke Honda 43 pen, Maya Yoshida 49) bt PALESTINE 0 at Hunter Stadium.Crowd: 15,497 Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Japan sink Palestine, reigning champions too strong for newcomers