The nature of Japan's premature Asian Cup exit has triggered deeper introspection about the state of the national side, with a daunting trip to North Korea for World Cup qualifying in a matter of weeks.
The four-time champion and tournament favorite was beaten 2-1 by Iran in the quarterfinals on Saturday, having thrown away a first-half lead.
Iran won it with a stoppage-time penalty but in truth it was comfortably the better team in the second half and had several big chances to bury the game before that.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.