YOKOHAMA — Japan needed a late own-goal to open the door to a 2-0 win over Scotland on Saturday, as Takeshi Okada's side struggled to find its rhythm in what had effectively become a B international.
Okada responded to 10 withdrawals from the Scots' squad by fielding a second-string side of his own for the friendly at Nissan Stadium, and was rewarded with a performance befitting his players' reserve status for most of the 90 minutes.
Japan struggled to find an answer to Scotland's solid defending as the match seemed headed for a scoreless draw, but Christophe Berra turned in a Yuichi Komano cross with debutant Takayuki Morimoto lurking in the 82nd minute, before Keisuke Honda rattled in a second on the stroke of fulltime.