Japan "B" conceded a soft goal and was reduced to 10 men before halftime on Friday, but salvaged a 1-1 draw with Qatar in their final Asian Cup group match thanks to a 60th-minute equalizer from substitute Akinori Nishizawa.
Philippe Troussier rested eight of the side which destroyed Uzbekistan 8-1 last Tuesday in preparation for next Tuesday's quarterfinal with Iraq and also got the "test" he wanted at Beirut Sports City Stadium as Qatar took a 22nd-minute lead.
Midfielder Abdulnasser al-Obaidly crashed in a free kick from 45 meters with Japan's stand-in goalkeeper Daijiro Takakuwa hopelessly out of position, apparently expecting a cross with the ball placed near the right touch-line.
Takakuwa had been served notice of what to expect just five minutes earlier when al-Obaidly hammered a 30-meter free kick against the post with the Kashima Antlers keeper again getting his angles wrong.