NIIGATA -- Japan got off to a good start in the Confederations Cup, beating Canada 3-0 in a Group B game Thursday night at Big Swan Niigata Stadium.

Urawa Reds midfielder Shinji Ono curled in a free kick in the 57th minute and Espanyol forward Akinori Nishizawa knocked in a header in the 60th before Hiroaki Morishima struck in the 88th.

"This is an important win, especially from the opening game," Japan manager Philippe Troussier said afterward. "As I said before the game, the opening game is always the hardest in the tournament and we got stuck a little bit in the first half."

The Japanese team started the game with cheers from the 39,006 fans in the stands at the brand new World Cup stadium. But the hosts were also greeted with a good defensive performance from their opponents and got stuck trying to find their attacking rhythm.

Canada manager Holger Osieck, formerly of the Urawa Reds, assigned Werder Bremen attacking midfielder Paul Stalteri to mark AS Roma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and midfielder Daniel Imhof to take care of Hiroaki Morishima. While the Japanese were seeking their form, the Canadians, who won the 2000 Gold Cup, started to threaten, thanks to Nottingham Forest left wing Jim Brennan's breaks down the left flank later in the first half and tricky performances by Fulham forward Paul Peschisolido.

Peschisolido hit a header past the post in the 41st minute, and Dundee United defender Jason Devos also headed a Brennan corner, which was punched out by Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi made a good decision to come out to save what appeared to be a decisive pass from right midfielder Kevin McKenna to Peschisolido in the 45th minute. But after the break, Ono's goal broke a deadlock and gave life to the Japanese team.

Jubilo Iwata striker Masashi Nakayama was brought down by a Canadian player two meters outside the box for a free kick. The 21-year-old Ono took the placed kick, which sailed over a six-man defensive wall and found the top left corner of the net. It was Ono's first goal for Japan since in the opening game of the Asian Cup against Saudi Arabia on Oct. 14.

After the game, Ono unveiled that he beat Nakata in a verbal janken (rock, scissors, paper game) and took the free kick.

Troussier said, "After the first goal, the situation changed completely and we had more confidence and good balance between defense and offense."

Boosted by the goal and the big shouts of joy from the stands, Japan looked completely different and found better attacking moves.

Three minutes later, Nakayama played tenaciously to

keep the ball on the left flank and beat his marker. He then crossed the ball in for Morishima at the far post. Morishima passed the ball back to an advancing Nishizawa, who knocked in a header to give Japan a 2-0 lead.

With three minutes from time, Morishima got Ono's long feed up front and calmly faced Canada goalkeeper Craig Forrest of West Ham. He beat the goalie for his first goal for Japan since the Asian Cup. Troussier said, "I think our players enjoyed the game with good backing from our fans in the stands. It was a good performance for us and it is important to start the tournament like this. We need four, five or six points (in the tournament). We now have to focus on our next game."

On Saturday night at the same venue, Japan will play Cameroon.