Keiji Tamada’s strike after just two minutes gave World Cup finalists Japan a slim victory over Malta yesterday, in a friendly match played at the LTU- Arena in Dusseldorf.

Tamada was on target in the second minute, settling a low-key match that saw a reshuffled Japan side start without injured strikers Atsushi Yanagisawa and Naohiro Takahara.

Japan included the likes of Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura and Bolton Wanderers loan man Hidetoshi Nakata in their starting line-up in Dusseldorf, but their win was unconvincing.

This was Malta’s third international under coach Dusan Fitzel and Japan’s last World Cup warm-up game before their opening Group F match against Australia today week.

The Japanese struggled to find their way through a dogged Maltese defence, which recovered well from Tamada’s early strike.

Japan dominated play thereafter, with Masashi Oguro testing Justin Haber with a rasping shot on 15 minutes before crashing a low effort against the post near the half-hour mark. Oguro squandered another goalscoring opportunity just before half-time, shooting tamely at Haber after being released by Hidetoshi Nakata.

With Japan dominating proceedings, Malta were forced to live off scraps but enjoyed a brief attacking spell at the end of the first half when they hit the woodwork twice. Their best goalscoring opportunity came in the closing minutes of the half when Steve Wellman’s free-kick was parried on to the bar by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

Malta skipper Gilbert Agius rattled the bar from distance shortly afterwards but Japan preserved their lead at the break. Japan regained control in the second half, but their makeshift strike-force were unable to convert the pressure into goals.

Despite the relative strength of the side put out by Zico and their ampleshare of possession, the Maltese were able to restrict their Eastern opponents to just a single goal on the day.

Malta were also handicapped by the absences of various regulars, such as Barbara, Woods, Briffa nd Pullicino andfielded a defensive formation, in a bid to hold out their fast opponents. Gilbert Agius and Andrew Cohen went in as late substitutes while both Andrei Agius and Andre Schembri made their international debut at senior level in this match.

Malta’s line-up:

J. Haber, I. Ciantar, S. Wellman, L. Dimech, C. Mattocks (A. Schembri), K.. Sammut, I. Azzopardi, A. Agius (G. Agius), G. Mallia (R. Bajada), T. Cilia (A. Cohen), J. Pace.