Japan suffered another setback ahead of its upcoming World Cup qualifiers after going down 1-0 to the United Arab Emirates in the final game of the annual Kirin Cup tournament on Friday.
The loss was Japan's second in less than a week following Sunday's 1-0 reverse to Peru and increased the pressure on coach Zico a week before the Asian champions take on Bahrain in a crunch Group B qualifier in Manama.
Haidar Alo Ali struck the winner in the 69th minute to stun home fans at Tokyo's National Stadium as the UAE and Peru shared the Kirin honors after both teams finished the tournament with four points each from two games.