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Full Time
Japan 1 0Cameroon
K. Honda  39' 1-0 
HT: 1-0
Free State Stadium (Attendance: 30,620)
Referee: Olegário Benquerenga
Preview  |  Stats  |  Match Report
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Japan vs. Cameroon
Minute Commentary
95' FULL-TIME
The whistle goes to bring an end to a match that has thrown up a shock result. Japan did little, but neither did Cameroon, and Honda's goal earned his side a first ever World Cup win outside of their home country.
93' LAST CHANCE?
Assou-Ekotto's ball in is missed by the first defender, but no Cameroon attacker can get a touch and the blue shirts swarm to the ball to deal with the danger.
93' OFF THE LINE!
Geremi's ball in is diverted on target by Webo, but the keeper comes to his side's rescue, diving across his goal and finger-tipping the ball off the line.
92' HALF A CHANCE
Assou-Ekotto fires a free-kick long into the area with the rest of the team waiting, and his delivery is good. However, nobody gambled and it runs straight through to the goalkeeper. All it needed was a touch!
91' TIME IS RUNNING OUT
The fourth official signals for four minutes of injury time. Can Cameroon grab a result?!!
89' INAMOTO COMES ON
National legend Inamoto replaces Hasebe for Japan.
87' HEART IN MOUTH MOMENT
Hamidou almost does a Robert Green, but the ball skids out of his arms and wide of the goal. Shocking error that though!
86' OFF THE BAR!!!
Mbia shoots from distance and almost grabs an equaliser! The right-back's effort fizzes and swerves through the air, cannoning back off the bar with the keeper well beaten. What a terrific effort - that deserved to go in!
82' OFF THE POST
Hamidou makes a terrific save, but it rebounds out to Okazaki, who hits the post. The linesman's flag was raised in any case so it wouldn't have stood.
82' CHANGE FOR JAPAN
Yano replaces Okubo for the final ten minutes.
80' LUCKY DECISION
Cameroon get a very soft free-kick in a dangerous crossing position. Can they take advantage...? No.
79' ANOTHER WASTE
Idrissou has a chance to run at the last man, but his first touch is heavy and he surrenders possession with never threatening the goal.
75' DOUBLE-CHANGE
Le Guen makes a double change, bringing on Geremi and Idrissou for Makoun and Choupo-Moting as he goes in search of the result that his side need to stand a realistic chance of progression.
74' DESPERATE DEFENDING
Eto'o gets into a dangerous position running at the Japan back-line, but the defenders throw their bodies on the line to give the striker no chance of getting a shot away.
72' THAT'S A YELLOW
Nkoulou goes into the book for the slightest of challenges on Okazaki. Considering some of the tackles that haven't warranted a card, that's a tad harsh.
68' CHANGE FOR JAPAN
Matsui goes off and on comes the more attacking Okazaki.
66' CROWDED OUT
Samuel Eto'o tries to create something out of nothing and gets bundled out of it as Japan throw numbers at the star man.
62' DECENT BALL IN
Assou-Ekotto curls in a quality free-kick and it is nudged behind for a corner. The Spurs man whips in another beauty that causes panic in the Japan defence, and Tanaka gets clattered by Nakazawa as they attempt to deal with the threat.
60' SPOKE TOO SOON
After the sparkling start to the half, the game has disappointingly reverted to the pace before the break. It's little surprise that the fans have resorted to entertaining themselves with a Mexican wave.
57' DECENT EFFORT GOES WIDE
Choupo-Moting has a pop from distance, but just drags his shot slightly and it flies wide of the near post. Was definitely worth a pop there though, particularly as the keeper has hardly been tested.
54' OVER THE BAR
Webo gets a head to the ball in the area, but is under tremendous pressure and can't keep his effort down.
52' FAR MORE ENTERTAINING
There has already been more action since the break than we saw in the whole opening 45 minutes.
49' SHOULD HAVE SCORED
Eto'o produces a moment of magic to break through down the flank and sets up Choupo-Moting, but the attacker's shot curls just wide of the far top corner. That was a glorious opportunity and he should have scored.
47' NICE TRY
Okubo goes down dramatically on the by-line and rolls into the box, but the ref isn't fooled and gives the foul just outside of the area.
46' SECOND HALF
Japan get the second 45 minutes underway. Let's hope this one's more entertaining than the first.
45' HALF TIME
The whistle goes to end a somewhat painful first half, but Japan will be more than happy to be 1-0 up after a disappointing opening 45 that didn't deserve a goal. Hopefully Cameroon will have to come out after the break in search of a goal, which should liven things up.
44' NEEDED A GOOD DELIVERY
Cameroon piled numbers into the box as Mbia broke down the right, but the full-back's cross was poor and is cut out by the first defender.
43' WASTED CHANCE
Japan break, but Honda handles the ball as he attempts to flick it on and the whistle goes to end the attack.
40' MORE ON THAT GOAL
This game desperately needed a goal, and thankfully it got it, although it is a real shock that Japan are the team to find the back of the net. A slightly over-hit cross exposes Mbia's decision to tuck in at the back post, leaving Honda all alone to control the ball and drive past a helpless Hamidou. It's 1-0 and now surely this game will improve.
39' GOOOAAALLL!!!
Honda grabs the lead for Japan!
38' REASONS TO CELEBRATE
This game is really livening up, and it's Cameroon doing all the good work. Assou-Ekotto does well down the left and sets up half a chance, although the keeper is equal to the resulting effort.
34' THAT'S MORE LIKE IT
Cameroon finally put together an attacking move of genuine quality, with Eto'o and Makoun combining, and the latter almost threading a ball through to Choupo-Moting in the box. More of that please!
31' PLAYING FOR THE FOUL
Kawashima loses the ball in the air and almost sets up Eto'o with a chance. The keeper lands awkwardly and rolls around until the game is halted. It is doubtful that the keeper was genuinely hurt, but it did help disguise his mistake...
29' CALLS FOR TREATMENT
Mbia is down and in some discomfort after a tackle by Endo, and Japan put the ball out of play so that he can receive some treatment.
26' POORLY TIMED RUN
Eto'o bursts clear with space to run into, but fails to beat the offside trap. He really should be experienced enough to time his run better in situations like that, but it is a warning for the Japan defence.
24' FLASHES OF QUALITY
Even though neither side have really posed too many problems for the other, it is clear that Cameroon have greater quality on the park. This time it is highly-rated midfielder Makoun who shows his class, shimmying inside his man and clipping in a clever through-ball that is just cut out.
20' THE FLAG IS UP
The linesman signals for offside as Hamidou flaps wildly at an innocuous cross into the box. The Cameroon keeper looked far from comfortable there and will have been relieved to have seen the flag.
16' SCRAPPY IN MIDFIELD
Neither side have been able to string even a handful of passes together and it has been as disappointing a start as any game in the tournament so far. Cameroon are expected to make a decent fist of things in South Africa, but will need to improve from this slow start.
12' STYLE ERROR
With little to talk about in terms of action on the field, attention inevitably turns to the questionable hairstyle of left-back Assou-Ekotto, who has opted for a change from either his usual braided style or afro, for a strange effort involving a hair-band and bun that he may be wise to reconsider for the next match.
8' FIRST GLIMPSE OF A CHANCE
Webo fires the ball across the box, but just fails to pick out a lurking Eto'o and the chance goes begging.
6' TEPID AFFAIR
There has been no action worthy of a mention in the opening six minutes of this game and if we were hoping for a rollercoaster afternoon then the signs are bleak. There's plenty of time for that to change though.
4' SLOW START
Neither side have been willing to take any risks in the early stages of the game, and it has been quite a slow start.
1' KICK-OFF
Cameroon get the game underway in Bloemfontein.
0' THE ANTHEMS
The television microphones do well to pick up the dulcet tones of the players above the racket of the crowd as both teams belt out their respective anthems. We're just minutes away from kick-off here.
0' THE VENUE
Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein has been redeveloped in time for the tournament, and the 40,000 seater stadium will host six games, including one knock-out match.
0' THE TEAMS ARE IN
Eto'o starts in a three-pronged Cameroon attack with Choupo-Moting and Webo. Premier League defenders Assou-Ekotto and Bassong both start, but there's no place in the team for Arsenal's Song or his Uncle Rigobert, while Kameni also fails to make the starting line-up. Japan have opted for a rather defensive line-up, hoping to limit the African side's attacking game.
0' MORE TO COME
Expectations are high about Cameroon in this tournament, and we'll have the build-up, team news and live commentary right here.
0' EARLY TEAM NEWS
Both managers are keeping their team selection close to their chest, but have revealed that their squads are fully fit.
0' PREVIEW
One of the strongest African teams at the tournament kick-starts their campaign today against an out-of-form Japan. The Asian side have lost their last four full internationals, and have looked short of goals for the last couple of years, but will come across an unsettled Cameroon back-line that could present them opportunities. Group E is tough, with the two European sides likely to prove tricky opponents in the next two games, but Cameroon seem to be one of the most balanced teams from the host continent with quality in all areas of the pitch.
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Teams
Japan
(4-1-4-1)
Elji Kawashima21
Yuichi Komano3
Yuji Nakazawa22
Marcus Tanaka4
Yuto Nagatomo5
69' Daisuke Matsui8
39' Keisuke Honda18
90' Yuki Abe2
88' Makoto Hasebe17
Yasuhito Endo7
82' Yoshito Okubo16
Substitutes
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi23
Seigo Narazaki1
Atsuto Uchida6
Daiki Iwamasa13
Yasuyuki Konno15
88' Junichi Inamoto20
Shunsuke Nakamura10
Kengo Nakamura14
69' Shinji Okazaki9
82' Kisho Yano12
Takayuki Morimoto19
Keiji Tamada11
Cameroon
(4-3-3)
16Souleymanou Hamidou
19Stephane Mbia
3Nicolas Nkoulou 72'
5Sebastien Bassong
2Benoit Assou-Ekotto
21Joel Matip 63'
11Jean II Makoun 75'
18Eyong Enoh
9Samuel Eto'o
15 Webó
13Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 75'
Substitutes
1Idriss Carlos Kameni
22Guy-Rolland N'dy Assembe
8 Geremi 75'
4Rigobert Song
12Gaetan Bong
14Aurelien Chedjou
10Achille Emaná 63'
6 Song
20Georges Mandjeck
17Mohamadou Idrissou 75'
23Vincent Aboubakar
Team Stats
Japan Cameroon
1 Goals 0
1 Assists 0
5 Shots 11
5 Shots on Goal 4
2 Saves 1
0 Penalties Scored 0
0 Penalty Kicks 0
13 Crosses 19
0 Corner Kicks 3
4 Offsides 2
20 Fouls Committed 29
1 Cautions/Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart
Japan
No. Player G YC RC GA Svs
21E. Kawashima - 0 0 0 2
2Y. Abe 0 1 0 - -
3Y. Komano 0 0 0 - -
4M. Tanaka 0 0 0 - -
5Y. Nagatomo 0 0 0 - -
7Y. Endo 0 0 0 - -
8D. Matsui 0 0 0 - -
16Y. Okubo 0 0 0 - -
17M. Hasebe 0 0 0 - -
18K. Honda 1 0 0 - -
22Y. Nakazawa 0 0 0 - -
Substitutes
9S. Okazaki 0 0 0 - -
12K. Yano 0 0 0 - -
20J. Inamoto 0 0 0 - -

Cameroon
No. Player G YC RC GA Svs
16S. Hamidou - 0 0 1 1
2B. Assou-Ekotto 0 0 0 - -
3N. Nkoulou 0 1 0 - -
5S. Bassong 0 0 0 - -
9S. Eto'o 0 0 0 - -
11J. Makoun 0 0 0 - -
13E. Choupo-Moting 0 0 0 - -
15 Webó 0 0 0 - -
18E. Enoh 0 0 0 - -
19S. Mbia 0 0 0 - -
21J. Matip 0 0 0 - -
Substitutes
8 Geremi 0 0 0 - -
10A. Emaná 0 0 0 - -
17M. Idrissou 0 0 0 - -
CommentaryTeam StatsPlayer Stats Shotchart

Players
No.Number
GGoals
AstAssists
SHTSShots
SOGShots on Goal
CKCorner Kicks
CRCrosses
OffOffsides
FCFouls Committed
FSFouls Suffered
YCYellow Cards
RCRed Cards
GAGoals Against
SvsSaves
w2 © 2013 by STATS LLC.
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