Japan's hopes of qualifying for this summer's Athens Olympics suffered an unexpected setback Sunday after a 1-0 home defeat to Bahrain in Group B of the final round of Asian zone qualifiers.
Bahrain's Adel Abbas acrobatically kicks the ball away from Japan's Ryoichi Maeda during their Olympic qualifier at Saitama Stadium on Sunday. Bahrain upset the home team 1-0.
Masakuni Yamamoto's side enjoyed the lion's share of possession in a cagey affair at Saitama Stadium 2002 but was left shell-shocked when Adel Abbas blasted home a loose ball from close range in the 71st minute.
"I thought the players gave it their all tonight and we just couldn't get the goal we wanted," Yamamoto said.