Japan's rising sons hit heights

Their best moment came when it was all over, sub Ali Zitouni hitting the bar with 10 minutes left.

On another oppressive day in Osaka, though, they were not taking on 11 men but 45,000. Yet for 45 minutes, despite being outfought and outplayed, they held out until an inspirational double substitution at half-time from Japan's French coach, Philippe Troussier.

He admitted: "It's a very special moment for me personally as well as the team. We are not tired, we are calm, we are on our way, we want to achieve good things.

"It's the completion of four years of hard work and the support of the fans was very important."

Inamoto, whose release by Arsenal has raised a few eyebrows - and grumbles - here, had a decent first half, but Troussier pulled him and striker Atsushi Yanagisawa off, feeling the team needed more attacking input to ease the tension.

"It was time to use my joker," said Troussier. Morishima is listed as 5ft 7in, but looks smaller, about the size of some of the kids who were playing in the pre-match kickabout.

Perhaps the Tunisian defence did not see him lurking in the box when a ball broke loose into the area off the boot of defender Raouf Bouzaine and, with his first touch, the Cerezo Osaka player pounced, swivelled and deposited the ball past Ali Boumnijel's right hand. Troussier's other second-half inclusion, Daisuke Ichikawa, also helped turn the tide, producing a powering run and a perfectly-flighted curler for the unmarked Nakata to head home, via the goalkeeper's legs.

By that stage, Tunisia had been well and truly roasted.

But what is so constantly impressive about this Japanese side is not just the unexpectedly high skill factor but the sheer energy and athleticism they bring into their game even on a suffocating day like this.

Okay, their opposition in this group has been poor, but this was how we might have hoped England would have approached their group decider here onWednesday, with the same sort of urgency and purpose.

There can be no doubt their adrenaline is pumped by the amazing support they receive, too, even if my naive western assumptions that everyone was going to take a day off to watch the game were met with horrified stares by those Japanese I talked to in my hotel.

After all, football was okay, but a work day was a work day.

Still, at least 45,000 presumably managed to upset their bosses and, though there wasn't quite the same fevered atmosphere that greeted the win over Russia, it was still a sight to behold. They and their team are illuminating the football world.

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