Japan forced Jamaica's "Reggae Boyz" to dance to a different tune in the King Hassan II Cup on Tuesday, overpowering the Caribbean islanders 4-0 to exorcise the ghosts of the France World Cup in 1998.
After an uneventful first half at Casablanca's Mohammed V Stadium, Japan opened the scoring within two minutes of the restart as substitute Atsuhiro Miura crossed from the right for Valladolid striker Shoji Jo to crash home the first of his two goals.
Philippe Troussier's side, which lost on penalties to France after a creditable 2-2 draw last Sunday, doubled its lead in the 58th minute when Jo beat his marker to a Hiroshi Nanami free kick and glanced a sharp header in off the post. Holding a two-goal lead, revenge for the 2-1 defeat which left Japan at the bottom of Group H -- with no points -- at the 1998 World Cup never looked in doubt.
Miura, who for the second straight game had already made an immediate impact, tried to claim a goal for himself in the 65th minute after his 20-meter effort deflected in off the knee of Atsushi Yanagisawa following a Hidetoshi Nakata corner.