Our new players were under pressure: Japan coach

Kolkata, Oct 14 (IANS) Japan coach Yoshiro Moriyama said that resting nine of their regulars resulted in lack of coordination in the team. He said this after his boys were held 1-1 in the Group E FIFA Under-17 World Cup game against New Caledonia here on Saturday.

New Caledonia skipper Jekob Jeno scored in the 83rd minute to cancel out the early goal from Keito Nakamura at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan here.

"We started well and scored early but after that the players committed lot of mistakes and were under lot of pressure. I am not happy with the performance, except that of Shimpei Fukuoka and Toichi Suzuki. Nine of the players were playing the first match of the competition. We lacked combination," Moriyama said at the post-match media meet.

While New Caledonia got their first ever point in a FIFA World Cup, Japan made it to the knockout stage as the second team from the group after France. Japan wrapped up their group outings with four points, and France nine.

Moriyama, however, was confident that his team would put up a much better show in the round of 16 game at the same venue on October 17.

"In the next match, we would have some players well rested and the main players will be in the best of condition. I hope they will be proactive...in the next match we will show our 100 per cent," said Moriyama.

Asked whether Japan underestimated New Caledonia, which had conceded a dozen goals in the first two games, the coach said: "We used those who are eager and hungry and gave them a chance."