Japan v Mexico, 22 June 2013

Score2-1 to Mexico
RefereeFelix Brych
CompetitionFIFA Confederations Cup Group A
VenueEstádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
Attendance52,690
Kick-off: 4.00pm local (8.00pm BST) Match Report The first clear chance of the game fell to Kagawa. The Manchester United man fired straight at goalkeeper Ochoa who had replaced Corona in the starting line up. Mexico then hit the woodwork through Guardado. His header smashed the post following a cross from Torres. Shortly after the break Mexico took the lead. Guardado controlled a cross field pass brilliantly on the left then crossed for Hernandez who headed in at the near post. Hernandez then got his second with another header. He called upon his goalscoring instinct when he stole in at the back post following a Mexican flick on. Japan pulled one back through Okazaki. Endo volleyed a cross in after some creative work by Kagawa. Okozaki forced the ball in despite Ochoa getting a hand on it. Hernandez should have ensured victory and notched his hat-trick in stoppage time. He was brought down and stepped up himself only for the keeper to save. He pounced on the rebound but lashed against the bar. Nevertheless, Mexico held on to grab their first points of the tournament. Both sides will be disappointed to be exiting at such an early stage and Japan in particular might feel their performances merited more. Preview Both teams will be looking to restore some pride before they exit competition early. In particular, Mexico will be looking for a confidence boost to help their World Cup qualification campaign which is still in the balance. Japan won many fans after their performance against Italy and lead some into thinking they could be contenders at next summer's World Cup. They will be looking for another strong performance to reinforce this idea. Zaccheroni will be without his captain Makoto Hasebe who is suspended for this one. Hosogai is likely to replace him. Mexico may hand opportunities to some of the younger members of their squad who performed so well last summer at the Olympic Games when they won gold.

1  Japan

Manager: Alberto Zaccheroni

2  Mexico

Manager: Jose Manuel de la Torre

Goals:

Shinji Okazaki 86 G

Goals:

Javier Hernández 54 G
Javier Hernández 66 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima
Defender Yuzo Kurihara
Defender Yūto Nagatomo
Defender Hiroki Sakai
Midfielder Yasuhito Endo (captain)
Midfielder Keisuke Honda
Midfielder Hajime Hosogai
Midfielder Shinji Kagawa
Midfielder Yasuyuki Konno
Forward Ryoichi Maeda
Forward Shinji Okazaki

Starting lineup:

Guillermo Ochoa Goalkeeper
Hiram Mier Defender
Héctor Moreno Defender
Diego Reyes Defender
Jorge Torres Defender
Jonathan dos Santos Midfielder
Andrés Guardado Midfielder
Gerardo Torrado Midfielder (captain)
Jesus Zavala Midfielder
Raúl Jiménez Forward

Substitutions:

Atsuto Uchida for Hiroki Sakai 59
Maya Yoshida for Ryoichi Maeda 65
Kengo Nakamura for Yūto Nagatomo 77

Substitutions:

Carlos Salcido for Andrés Guardado 71
Pablo Barrera for Jonathan dos Santos 78
Javier Aquino for Raúl Jiménez 90

Cards:

Hiroki Sakai 38 Y

Cards:

Guillermo Ochoa 90 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda
Goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa
Defender Atsuto Uchida
Defender Maya Yoshida
Defender/Midfielder Gotoku Sakai
Midfielder Masahiko Inoha
Midfielder Takashi Inui
Midfielder Kengo Nakamura
Midfielder Hideto Takahashi
Forward Mike Havenaar

On the bench:

Goalkeeper José Corona
Goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera
Defender Gerardo Flores
Defender Severo Meza
Defender Carlos Salcido
Midfielder Javier Aquino
Midfielder Héctor Herrera
Midfielder Jesús Molina
Midfielder Angel Reyna
Forward Pablo Barrera
Forward Aldo de Nigris

1  Japan

Manager: Alberto Zaccheroni

Goals:

Shinji Okazaki 86 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima
Defender Yuzo Kurihara
Defender Yūto Nagatomo
Defender Hiroki Sakai
Midfielder Yasuhito Endo (captain)
Midfielder Keisuke Honda
Midfielder Hajime Hosogai
Midfielder Shinji Kagawa
Midfielder Yasuyuki Konno
Forward Ryoichi Maeda
Forward Shinji Okazaki

Substitutions:

Atsuto Uchida for Hiroki Sakai 59
Maya Yoshida for Ryoichi Maeda 65
Kengo Nakamura for Yūto Nagatomo 77

Cards:

Hiroki Sakai 38 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda
Goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa
Defender Atsuto Uchida
Defender Maya Yoshida
Defender/Midfielder Gotoku Sakai
Midfielder Masahiko Inoha
Midfielder Takashi Inui
Midfielder Kengo Nakamura
Midfielder Hideto Takahashi
Forward Mike Havenaar

2  Mexico

Manager: Jose Manuel de la Torre

Goals:

Javier Hernández 54 G
Javier Hernández 66 G

Starting lineup:

Guillermo Ochoa Goalkeeper
Hiram Mier Defender
Héctor Moreno Defender
Diego Reyes Defender
Jorge Torres Defender
Jonathan dos Santos Midfielder
Andrés Guardado Midfielder
Gerardo Torrado Midfielder (captain)
Jesus Zavala Midfielder
Raúl Jiménez Forward

Substitutions:

Carlos Salcido for Andrés Guardado 71
Pablo Barrera for Jonathan dos Santos 78
Javier Aquino for Raúl Jiménez 90

Cards:

Guillermo Ochoa 90 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper José Corona
Goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera
Defender Gerardo Flores
Defender Severo Meza
Defender Carlos Salcido
Midfielder Javier Aquino
Midfielder Héctor Herrera
Midfielder Jesús Molina
Midfielder Angel Reyna
Forward Pablo Barrera
Forward Aldo de Nigris