NIIGATA -- Japan and Kashima Antlers forward Takayuki Suzuki struck twice as Japan advanced to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over Cameroon on Saturday night.

The win upped Japan's point total in Group B to six with one more match remaining in the round-robin first round. But winless Cameroon was eliminated from the tournament.

The remaining spot for the June 7 semifinals will be decided on Monday when Brazil, on four points, plays Japan in Kashima and Canada, on one point, meets Cameroon.

"I'm proud of being the coach of this team," a jubilant Japan manager Philippe Troussier said afterward. "We played a fantastic game tonight. We considered this game like the World Cup, as we had lots of pressures and expectations about this game. But we qualified for the next round. It's a great achievement as our target of next year's World Cup is to get through to the second round. We've showed to the fans (that we are capable of achieving that.)"

Before 39,430 cheering fans at Big Swan Niigata Stadium, Japan started the match well in the eighth minute with a goal produced by an Antlers combination. Antlers forward Suzuki latched onto a long pass from his J. League club teammate and defender Koji Nakata on the right side. Suzuki then cut into the box and slotted an angled shot past Cameroon goalkeeper Boukar Alioum into the left side-net of the goal.

It was Suzuki's first goal for Japan in what was essentially his debut for the country. The 24-year-old striker made his Japan debut in last month's friendly against Spain by coming off the bench with a few seconds remaining in the game.

In the 65th minute, Espanyol forward Akinori Nishizawa challenged a Cameroon defender in an attempt to steal the ball outside of the box. The ball bounced to his old Cerezo teammate, Hiroaki Morishima, on the right flank. Morishima drove down to the byline and sent a cross in for Suzuki. Suzuki beat his marker in the box and knocked in a header, which hit the hands of Alioum before finding the goal.

Suzuki, who made a big contribution in the Antlers' triple-crown success last season in the J. League, came close to making a hat trick three times. But his close-range shot in the 61st minute was kicked out by a Cameroon defender, his 82nd-minute header was too short to reach a cross from substitute Jubilo forward Masashi Nakayama and his 88th-minute rebound off a Morishima shot on goal was blocked by a diving Alioum.

The Japanese team looked fit all night and found better combination play than it did during its first game. It also played a fine passing game.

Cameroon, the champions of the African Nations Cup and the Sydney Olympics in 2000, passed the ball around to create chances. Teenage prodigy Samuel Eto'o of Mallorca, in particular, combined well with his partner and African Player of the Year winner, Patrick Mboma of Parma, up front.

But Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi made a series of fine saves to keep a clean sheet for his team. Japan defender Ryuzo Morioka also played well to control the backline while his S-Pulse teammate, Kazuyuki Toda, penetrated well with Gamba midfielder Junichi Inamoto deep in midfield.

Troussier unveiled his starting lineup only five minutes before the team departed the hotel for the game. The French manager brought in the fresh legs of Morishima and veteran hard-fighting forward Nakayama in the second half, which turned out to be a very effective move.

Cameroon manager Pierre Lechantre said, "We lacked finishing and scoring and their goalkeeper had a good game."