An injury-time header by midfielder Pierre Ducrocq held Japan to a 1-1 draw with an under-strength Paris St.-Germain side Sunday in a warmup match for the Asian Cup in Lebanon.
Ducrocq's goal canceled out a 38th-minute strike from Cerezo Osaka midfielder Hiroaki Morishima, whose brilliant volley on a cross from Jubilo Iwata's Hiroshi Nanami beat goalkeeper Thomas Levaux at the Parc des Princes. Japan almost doubled the lead in the 79th minute when Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker Tatsuhiko Kubo hit the post following a neat three-man move that also involved second-half substitutes Shinji Ono of the Urawa Reds and Shunsuke Nakamura of the Yokohama F. Marinos.
"We are still jet lagged after a long trip, which resulted in a mix of bright spots and disappointing elements to the game," said Japan coach Philippe Troussier, who used 18 players in the match.
"But I think it worked as a very good preparation one week before the opening of the Asian Cup," he added.
PSG was playing without some of its top players, including France forwards Nicolas Anelka and Laurent Robert, who were on international duty, as well as Nigerian star Jay-Jay Okocha, who was resting ahead of a French League fixture.
Japan, bidding for its first Asian Cup title in eight years, will kick off its campaign Saturday against holder Saudi Arabia in first-round play. Group C also features Uzbekistan and Qatar.