Japan to play Kirin Cup in early June
April 26, 2011 - 0:0
Japan will play Peru and Czech Republic in the Kirin Cup in early June the Japan Football Association have announced.
In the annual round-robin tournament, Japan will meet Peru on June 1 in Niigata and Czech Republic on June 7 in Yokohama, while Peru and Czech Republic will play each other on June 4 in Nagano.Japan last played against a J.League select side in a charity game on March 29 to raise money for the country in the aftermath of last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
The Blue Samurai's last international action was an extra-time victory over Australia in the final of the Asian Cup in January.
''I'm pleased that we can get together for this tournament,'' Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. ''This will be a good opportunity for us as we can play sides who have different styles. Those games will be important for us to update the information of each player and check our game.
''As the European season will have been over by then, I hope our players will have better focus to play and work on understanding each other better.''
(Source: Soccernet)