Japan's Olympic men's soccer team suffered its second loss in as many games at the Toulon Tournament, losing 1-0 to Portugal on Monday.
Andre Horta scored the lone goal in the 22nd minute for Portugal, which like Japan has also qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Games and has brought an Under-20 squad for the Under-23 competition. On Saturday, Japan lost 2-1 to an Under-21 Paraguay side.
Japan coach Makoto Teguramori tried to put a positive spin on the defeat ahead of Wednesday's game against Guinea.
"We're still improving so we can compete with the world's best teams," Teguramori said. "The determination is there.
"I thought our performance was better than it was against Paraguay and we just need to keep this up. We have to stick to our guns. We can feed off this defeat."
Japan needed almost the entire half to create its first shot of the game, Takuma Asano hitting the post after 38 minutes from a pass by Shinya Yajima.
Japan's best chance arrived two minutes into the second half, when Gakuto Notsuda blasted a completely free shot high over the bar from the heart of the area.
Teguramori's men settled for several half-chances the rest of the way, highlighting their continued struggles in front of goal.
"I should have put that away," Notsuda said of his missed opportunity in the 42nd minute. "If you don't finish, you can't win. It's the little things that make the difference at this level."
