SAITAMA — National team manager Takeshi Okada has defended his side's goalscoring record after watching Japan miss a slew of chances in Saturday's 1-0 win over Bahrain.
Shunsuke Nakamura's 47th-minute deflected free kick was enough to settle the World Cup qualifier at Saitama Stadium, giving Okada's men one foot in the tournament in South Africa.
Uzbekistan routed Qatar 4-0 later in the day to leave Japan with a seven-point cushion in the automatic qualification places.