June 15th Sunny/Marseilles

●Japan Loses to Argentina

Japan's first-ever World Cup match, its match with Argentina has ended with a 1-0 loss. Even though Japan lost, it certainly played well to stay so close to an opponent that is considered a serious candidate for the championship. After the match, Naba said, "I don't care what we learned from the match. What hurts is that we lost." Almost all the team members felt the same way. The team mood is about right.

On the other hand, the Argentine side was satisfied too. They are more relaxed now that they have their first-game victory under their belts. If a team with as much of a wealth of experience as the Argentines is relieved to have its first victory, there can be no doubt that the "first victory" will be quite difficult for Japan to accomplish. However, we want to count on the words of the players.

This World Cup has now reached its 6th day and all 32 teams have played a game. Some teams have gotten off to smooth starts and some have stumbled. The second round of games begins the real battle for spots in the championship tournament. This should produce some good games.