Japan plays out stalemate in Qatar

Doha — Japan's Under-23s continued their preparations for their upcoming London Olympic qualifier with Syria with a 0-0 draw against Qatar in a practice match at their camp in Doha on Saturday.

Kashima Antlers duo Yuya Osako and Kazuya Yamamura both started and Cerezo Osaka's Hiroshi Kiyotake came on as a substitute as all 21 of Takashi Sekizuka's squad were given a run out in the match played behind closed doors in the Qatari capital.

"We had plenty of decent goalscoring chances but couldn't put them away," said Sekizuka. "We have to start switching on the engine."

Sekizuka's men play another training match against Iraq on Tuesday and resume qualifying away to Syria on Feb. 5 in neutral Jordan.

Japan, seeking its fifth consecutive Olympic berth and ninth appearance overall, sit atop Group C with nine points from three wins, three points ahead of second-placed Syria.