CORDOBA, Spain -- Considering Spain recently beat France, Japan's 1-0 loss Wednesday in Cordoba can be considered a reasonable result. Some people out there will think Japan was unlucky not to get the draw as Spain scored in injury time, but in footballing terms, Spain deserved to win.

Japan worked hard for the 0-0 draw and with almost no attack whatsoever, that's the most they could have expected. This performance was a direct result of the 5-0 defeat in France, where the team was loose and unrealistic to the task facing it. Against Spain, they were absolutely realistic to the task.

They started the game much, much better than against France, the pitch was better and the small stadium more like those in Japan, so everything was better suited to the Japanese team.

The Japanese players based their game around defense and were able to keep the ball longer, and so their confidence improved.

When they were overcome by the Spanish, the goalkeeper -- Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi -- was equal to the task. He made some good saves in the first half to keep the score down, which did not happen with Seigo Narazaki in France. Japan was never ever going to score in this game and it looked like it was going to be a 0-0 draw to everyone, even the most optimistic Spanish supporters.

I think the change of circumstances with Yuji Nakazawa coming in for Kenichi Uemura just upset the balance of the team a bit and allowed Spain to steal the goal.

Japan worked very hard for the 0-0 draw, especially on defense where they were solid and strong. There were good performances from Yasuhiro Hato, Toshihiro Hattori and Naohiro Takahara. I was disappointed not to see Shimizu's Kazuyuki Toda play.

Overall, much better and more solid than against France, but with no attacking intentions, you'd expect that.

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi: A good performance -- he was good on crosses but maybe should have come with more confidence to help out at set plays. Unlucky to be beaten in the end by a late goal, but it would have been more except for him -- 6.5/10.

Kenichi Uemura: Pleased to see him in the team, although I feel he's better on the left. A decent performance, but needs to have his hair cut to how I remember it before, i.e., very little. It was unfortunate that he had to come off near the end and I think that led to Spain's goal, but a solid performance -- 6.

Ryuzo Morioka: A very assured outing -- he's much better in the center of the defense. He didn't overdo the offside, made good use of the ball and showed good leadership of the back three -- 6.5.

Koji Nakata: Made too many mistakes in the first 25 minutes, probably through nerves, but settled in to a decent performance and showed good signs for the future, if he doesn't get too nervous -- 6.

Yasuhiro Hato: A very encouraging first game. He had two very tricky opponents against him in the two halves and coped very well, and showed good attacking instincts. He's a good defender but can also do a decent attacking job that so far has been a problem in that position -- 6. Toshihiro Hattori: Has proved a success at the left wing-back position. He can also attack well and gave good support to his teammates and proved what an all-round player he is -- 6.5.

Junichi Inamoto: He had a strong defensive game in the first half and tried to push up further in the second half. He started very well and that helped build Japan's confidence in the early stages. He expressed himself more going forward in the second half and impressed the scouts from various European clubs watching from the stands -- 6.

Teruyoshi Ito: Another solid performance without doing anything too spectacular. He didn't really create anything going forward, which reflected the team as a whole, but was very solid in his play and started to show his leadership qualities, which he learned at S-Pulse. He did an important job for Japan alongside Inamoto -- 6.

Hiroshi Nanami: A more impressive attacking game from Nanami, who started the game much, much better than against France and showed some nice passing that linked the team together. But I think he is too weak physically when it comes to international football -- 5.5.

Hidetoshi Nakata: It was a more difficult game for him than against France because the team was more defensive, so when he received the ball there was less space to use it. Other players took up the role of leading the team as he had done in France, but he still provided several moments of excellence, as we know he can, and must have impressed the watching scouts -- 6.5. Naohiro Takahara: Takahara's a good player and worked hard in difficult circumstances alone up front. He's a much better option than Akinori Nishizawa -- who had the same role against France -- but it's difficult to judge an attacking player in a team with no attacking options. But he did his job and looks as if he's learning the game, which is what is needed -- 6.Substitutes:

Tomokazu Myojin: He looked very positive, which he needed to be after his performance against France -- 5.5.

Akinori Nishizawa, Daisuke Oku, Yuji Nakazawa, Takayuki Suzuki: Too little to register.