Slowly but surely, Japan's Asian Cup challenge is taking shape.
After a sluggish opening draw with Jordan and a wild win over Syria, manager Alberto Zaccheroni finally got what he was looking for on Monday with a 5-0 dismantling of Saudi Arabia, earning a quarterfinal against host Qatar and settling many of the jitters from the opening two games.
Where passing and movement had appeared stilted against Jordan and Syria, the wheels had become sufficiently lubricated to slice the Saudis to ribbons. And when the chances came, they were executed with an efficiency that bodes well for the rest of Japan's campaign.