Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has expressed his disappointment after the Blue Samurai were eliminated from the World Cup with only one point from three matches.
In a match where the Asian side had to win in order to keep their chances of qualifying for the next round alive, Japan were defeated 4-1 by group winner Colombia after two goals by Jackson Martinez and one a piece for Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez. Shinji Okazaki scored the only goal for the Asian side at the end of the first half.
“I thought we played better tonight than we did in the first two matches, but tonight we faced the toughest opponents in the group,” Zaccheroni told the media after the match as reported by calciomercato.it.
“I think I selected the best squad we have.
“They were the correct ones to bring here but we fell short.
“We thought we’d perform a lot better here in Brazil,” the 61-year old Italian specialist said.
“It has not been a positive outcome – we’re going home and we haven’t qualified.”
