Japan coach Ivica Osim on Thursday ordered his men to improve their performance than the first match against Qatar to beat United Arab Emirates in the must-win game.
"The UAE is a very dangerous team," said Osim. "We can be in a dangerous situation if we don't play better than what we did against Qatar."
"You should look at them all as a unit, not at a certain player. In addition, they have a wonderful coach. We will play against the team of UAE, not Ismail Matar alone."
Japan were held 1-1 draw by Qatar's late strike, and had to beat the UAE to change the qualifying situation in Group B. But the UAE are also hungry for three crucial points after losing to co-hosts Vietnam 2-0. And their recent Gulf Cup glory may boost their confidence while meeting strong teams.
Osim noted that Asian Cup is not Japan's ultimate goal. "Winning the Asian Cup is not our final objective. We are building our team to make it strong for the 2010 World Cup. On its way, the Asian Cup is an important competition to us," he said.
Japan were crowned in the last two editions of the continent's biggest soccer tournament, and are now pursuing their third straight title.
Source: Xinhua
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