Football
Reuters 6y

Colombia's Jose Pekerman vows team will push past 'bitter memory' of Japan defeat

Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said Tuesday's shock 2-1 loss to Japan will be a "bitter memory," but he vowed the stamina and nerve showed by the South Americans despite being a man down will propel them to victories in Group H.

Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off in the third minute for handling a goal-bound shot, the second fastest red card in World Cup history, stunning a stadium packed with yellow-shirted Colombia fans.

"We were expecting something completely different. We were hoping to start with a victory," said Pekerman, whose side reached the quarterfinals in the 2014 World Cup and won over many spectators with their spectacular goals and salsa-dancing celebrations.

But the Argentine-born Pekerman lauded the Cafeteros for holding their own after the expulsion and scoring an equaliser in the first half thanks to Juan Quintero's clever low free kick in the 39th minute.

"The positive side of all this is that you could see the team managed to rise to the occasion and managed to get a draw... that's a very good reaction," added Pekerman.

"If we can do that it shows that we have the wherewithal to move forward with the other matches and even win them. We can make up for this first defeat in the next two matches."

Group H also features Poland and Senegal and is one of the more open of the tournament.

Pekerman defended his strategy, which included subbing in attacking midfielder and 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez, who had been left out of the starting lineup because of muscle pain.

"The players that I subbed onto the pitch shows that I was not expecting a defensive style of play... I wanted to play along the sides so that they could pass balls forward so that we could cause Japan more problems," said Pekerman.

But it was all in vain when Japan's Yuya Osako leapt above his marker to head a corner into the net for the 73rd-minute winner.

"Right now our pain is precisely because after that huge effort after scoring that goal... we lost because we were worn down, we were tired and even if I tried subbing on a couple of fresh players it was very hard for us to recover possession and Japan had its opportunities," Pekerman said. "This is going to leave us with a bitter memory."

Japan coach Akira Nishino praised his players' ability to adapt and secure the victory through Yuya Osako's 73rd-minute winner.

After profiting from Colombia's early setback, Nishino stressed to his players the importance of keeping up the pressure on the tiring opposition.

"From the start I thought we could be very aggressive and of course we had the advantage of more players," Nishino told reporters. "However, I said at halftime it is not just the number of players... keep moving, get the positioning advantage to deprive the Colombian front players of their stamina.

"In the second half we could control the game and ball better and that is why we got the second goal. The players were aggressive and positive from the start and that worked very well for us."

Colombia, billed as one of the most attractive sides in the tournament, were firm favourites going into the match. Japan had a troubled run-up to Russia, with Nishino only taking over the helm in April, replacing the sacked Vahid Halilhodzic. Speaking the day before the match, he also said Monday's earthquake in Osaka had affected several players with families there.

Part of Nishino's remit since taking charge has been to instil an attacking brand of pressing football in his team. He was certainly pleased with the reaction of his midfield players in Saransk.

"We did not want to be always defensive," he said. "I tried to man the midfield with players who can take the initiative. We aimed high coming into this game and get the result. We need to be able to play to our full, rather than be reactive to the opposition strengths. If we are always defensive, the chance of victory is going to recede and we want to pursue victory."

Japan's win is the first by an Asian team over a nation from South America in the history of the World Cup, yet Nishino was not getting carried away with the performance ahead of their next match against Senegal on Sunday.

"It is just one win, three points, therefore we need to go to the next venue, so we will save our celebration," he said.

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