PARIS -- Japan never got going during its friendly Saturday on a pitch that looked in awful condition, while the French mastered it well. The Japanese found it difficult to get to grips with the French. It's just amazing how smoothly they play together. They just stroked the ball around the soggy pitch and through the Japan midfield as if there was nothing there.
On top of that, you can't give the world champions a two-goal start. Both the goals were the results of errors and the French just dominated from there, adding three more goals and putting on an impressive performance.
In defense of the Japanese, it's only two games into the J. League season so maybe they were caught cold. They didn't really look ready and never really got going, and never gave themselves a chance against the best team in the world. They need to be better at winning the ball and keeping it. Here's a breakdown on each Japan player along with a performance ranking: