From the moment Japan and Turkmenistan stepped onto the Al Nahyan Stadium pitch wearing their respective first uniforms of blue and green, fans watching on TV and online complained of a color clash making for difficult viewing.
That turned out to be far from the most unsightly thing on display in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night as an error-prone Japan barely managed a 3-2 win over Turkmenistan in its 2019 Asian Cup group stage opener.
"We somehow won," head coach Hajime Moriyasu said after the final whistle. "We knew that the first match would be difficult, and this is proof of how challenging the Asian Cup is."