Recife: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi picked out Japan's Shinji Kagawa as the dangerman for his side ahead of their Confederations Cup match on Wednesday. "I only know three or four Japanese players and the most talked about is the one that plays for Manchester United, Kagawa, he is the star," De Rossi told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think they are well organised and I think that means they will be dangerous." The Italians made a winning start on Sunday when goals from Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli secured a 2-1 win over Mexico in Rio de Janeiro. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli got a laugh when he discussed how to handle the mercurial former Manchester City forward but said Balotelli's good form was down to his own hard work.
"Talking about Mario is difficult because you never know what he might do from one day to the next," Prandelli said. "I think he is strongly motivated by wearing the Azzurri shirt and he has found a group of players here who have won a lot and want to win a lot more.
"That helps him grow. We have said for years that he has great potential and our task is to let him fulfil that and we need to contribute to that and help him as well." Prandelli said Wednesday's game could depend on how his countryman Alberto Zaccheroni sets out the Japanese....
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08:37 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Japan are favourites to beat Italy in the Confederations Cup on Wednesday because of their Italian manager and the fact they have had more rest, according to Azzurri coach Cesare Prandelli. He believes Japan's Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni's familiarity with his compatriots might cause Italy problems. "Japan will have the slight edge, I think, because they have an extra day of rest," said Prandelli. "Plus, Alberto knows us very well,...
08:26 AM, Jun 18, 2013
Brasilia: Neymar started to live up to the huge expectations of a demanding public only three minutes into the Confederations Cup on Saturday, scoring an early goal to help Brazil beat Japan 3-0 in the opening match of the tournament. The Brazil striker scored with a firm shot from outside the penalty area, connecting with the ball after Fred controlled a long cross from Marcelo with his chest. The ball...
02:49 AM, Jun 16, 2013
Rio de Janerio: On the field, the Confederations Cup can give Brazil's national team a major boost in their quest to win a sixth World Cup title next year. Off the field, the eight-team tournament will offer the first hints about where the country stands in their preparations for the main event in 2014. Brazil have won the last two Confederations Cup titles - in 2005 and 2009. And while...
12:52 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Jakarta: Defending champion Saina Nehwal and R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and Ajay Jayaram won their respective matches to advance to the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier here Thursday. In women's singles, World No.2 Saina defeated unseeded Japanese Sayaka Takahashi 21-13, 21-19 in 39 minutes in their first ever career meet at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The second seed will face Spaniard Carolina Marin in their first ever...
06:17 PM, Jun 13, 2013
Pele has warned Brazil not to underestimate Japan in the opening match of the Confederations Cup in Brasilia slated for Saturday. Despite backing Brazil as one of the tournament favourites, Pele believes the clash at Mane Garrincha stadium could be among the host nation's most difficult, reports Xinhua. And he warned Luiz Felipe Scolari's team that their emphatic 3-0 victory over France last Sunday would mean little during the event...
12:14 PM, Jun 13, 2013
New Delhi: The government is working to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) a comparably cheaper fuel option and achieve energy security by 2030. "Making LNG a cheaper fuel option is a great task," Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily said at the third IEF NOC-IOC forum currently underway in New Delhi. The major challenge faced by the government in this task was to arrive at a compromise pricing between what the...
04:06 AM, Jun 13, 2013
Asian champions Japan finished their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Iraq in Doha on Tuesday that ended the West Asian nation's slim hopes of joining them in Brazil. Iraq enjoyed plenty of possession and created lots of chances in the searing Qatari heat but could not find a way through and Japan made them pay with an 89th-minute goal on the counter from Shinji Okazaki. The...
08:30 AM, Jun 12, 2013
Five-time World Champions Brazil plummeted further down the FIFA rankings as they hit a record low of 22nd place on Thursday, leaving them sandwiched between Ghana and Mali. The latest rankings were also hugely embarrassing for Asia, whose highest-placed team Japan were a modest 32nd, with South Korea and Australia the region's only other teams in the top 50. Brazil's low position is a combination of their lacklustre recent results,...
05:44 PM, Jun 06, 2013
Tokyo: A Japan squad without any surprises was chosen for the Confederations Cup on Wednesday, a day after the team secured a fifth straight World Cup appearance. Keisuke Honda, whose goal in stoppage time allowed Japan to draw 1-1 with Australia and qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday, and Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa were among the 23 named by coach Alberto Zaccheroni. Japan are the first team to...
04:34 PM, Jun 05, 2013
Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals after a last-gasp home draw against Australia on Tuesday, while arch-rivals South Korea also conjured up a late equaliser in Beirut to inch closer to a spot in Brazil. The 62,000-plus crowd at Saitama stadium survived anxious moments before playmaker Keisuke Honda converted an injury-time penalty as Japan salvaged a draw to grab one of the two...
08:27 AM, Jun 05, 2013
Saitama: Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, tying Australia 1-1 on Tuesday night on Keisuke Honda's penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Tommy Oar put Australia ahead in the 82nd minute. But Matthew McKay's hand ball set up the penalty kick for Honda, who beat goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer with a left-footed shot to the top corner. One year and eight...
06:41 PM, Jun 04, 2013
Beijing: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's just concluded Japan visit continues to rile China, with a state-run daily warning that India could get close to Tokyo "at its own peril" and ties with it "can only bring trouble" to New Delhi. After attacking Japan on Thursday accusing it of attempting forge alliances with India and other neighbours to "encircle China" the ruling Communist Party-run Global Times on Friday came out with...
02:25 PM, May 31, 2013
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Thailand on a two-day visit after wrapping up his Japan visit on Thursday. Manmohan is expected to meet Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and outline the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and elevate bilateral ties into a strategic partnership. Manmohan will also discuss infrastructure projects, defence, science and technology as well as education with the Thai Prime Minister during his visit. Manmohan ended...
06:31 AM, May 31, 2013
London: India has probably surpassed Japan to become the world's third largest economy after the US and China, Paris-based think-tank OECD said on Wednesday even as it lowered the country's economic growth projection for 2013 to 5.3 per cent. "China will likely pass the United States as the world's largest economy in the next few years and India has probably recently surpassed Japan to be third largest," said the OECD...
09:04 AM, May 30, 2013
Tokyo: Japan on Wednesday indicated that an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with India could happen in "shorter than two years", but both sides seemed to tread cautiously in the matter given their respective stands on the contentious issues of Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Tonohika Taniguchi, councillor and a member of the Japanese Prime Minister's strategic team, said that "both countries have agreed to...
06:50 PM, May 29, 2013
Tokyo: Japan has given a loan of 71 billion yen (around $700 million) for the Mumbai Metro Line-III project. The exchange of notes was signed in this regard here on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. "The two Prime Ministers welcomed the signing of the Exchange of Notes for yen loan totalling 71 billion yen for the Mumbai Metro Line-III project,...
05:59 PM, May 29, 2013
Tokyo: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called on Japanese Emperor Akihito and discussed bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest. Manmohan accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur met the Emperor and the Empress of Japan at the luncheon at Imperial Palace in Tokyo ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Manmohan, who is on a three-day visit to Japan to strengthen bilateral strategic ties, on Tuesday said...
01:12 PM, May 29, 2013
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to meet his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe later on Wednesday. On the agenda are efforts to strengthen the ties between the two nations. Manmohan is in Japan on a three-day visit for bilateral talks. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet the Emperor and Empress of Japan who are set to visit India for the first time later this year. Manmohan...
08:41 AM, May 29, 2013
Tokyo: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday acknowledged that there are difficulties with some state governments over the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) but said that he is confident it would be implemented in "an appropriate type" by 2014. "The objective of the Indian government is to move towards a Goods and Services Tax applicable all over the country. But India is a federation, and in a...
04:08 AM, May 29, 2013
