Junichi Inamoto earned Japan a deserved 2-2 draw in its friendly against Uruguay in front of 54,000 fans at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Friday. His well-taken, second-half equalizer spared Japan's blushes but left coach Zico still seeking that elusive first win as Japan boss.
Despite his team's failure to register a win in his third game in charge, Zico will have been impressed by the effort shown by his midfield in particular, which dominated its counterpart throughout the 90 minutes. Inamoto stood out among his peers in this department and his 57th-minute equalizer was just reward for his all-star performance.
"We had a better organized defense than in previous games," explained Zico. "When we had the ball, we launched attacks very aggressively. We also gave our opponents very few chances."