With its European-based midfield on display and a new coach in Brazilian legend Zico, there was an air of anticipation as Japan took the field for its international friendly against Jamaica at Tokyo's National Stadium on Wednesday night.
The excitement did not last long, however, as Japan struggled to a tame 1-1 draw against a team comprised mainly of part-timers in front of a capacity crowd of 55,347.
"As we didn't have much time to prepare for this game, I was curious as to how we would play," said Zico after a game in which Shinji Ono's opener was canceled out by Ricardo Fuller's late equalizer for Jamaica.