DOHA: VVV Venlo defender Maya Yoshida is determined to stay on target for Japan – in the right direction – after ruffling the net three times in their 1-1 Asian Cup draw with Jordan.
The 22-year-old buried a rebound in the first half on Sunday but it was ruled offside and then his left foot deflected Hasan Abdel Fattah’s shot past Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima on the stroke of half-time.
But Yoshida, the tallest among the Blue Samurai at 189cm, soared high and headed home the equaliser on a set piece in the 92nd minute to keep alive the three-time champions campaign to regain the title.
“I was desperate to pull one back no matter how.
“I was aiming to score as we were told in training that the opponents were not tight in marking,” the centre back said.
“In Asia, there are many teams who don’t mark their opponents tightly. I will try hard to score more goals.
“I’ve realised again that they won’t let us win easily,” he added.
“Our target is to win the title. We want to stay focused for the upcoming matches.”
Japan next face Syria, who upset other three-time champions Saudi Arabia 2-1, on Thursday.
Yoshida joined the Dutch side from J-League Nagoya Grampus in January last year.
And his goal might well have saved Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni’s blushes in his first official tournament since he took over from Takeshi Okada after Japan reached the World Cup last-16 in South Africa.
Zaccheroni, who coached a dozen Italian clubs and guided AC Milan to the 1998-1999 Serie-A title, has warned that Japan’s rivals could be doggedly defensive.
Sunday’s match was only Yoshida’s second cap for his country since his international debut a year ago, with Zaccheroni needing a hardman to fill in for first choice centreback’s Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa, who are both injured.
“Tulio-san would have scored three goals in my shoes,” Yoshida said of the Brazilian-born attack-minded defender for Nagoya, who has bagged eight goals in 43 games for Japan since 2006.
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