ENGLAND BEATS JAPAN IN A BIZARRE WORLD CUP TUNEUP MATCH

England will head into World Cup play having won both of their tune up matches, though neither victory provided the team or their fans with much confidence.  This weekend England struggled with an overmatched Japan side, but escaped with a 2-1 victory in a bizarre contest in which all three goals were scored by the Japanese—two into their own net.  The win over Japan followed an uneven 3-1 victory over Mexico at Wembley Stadium.
 
In a driving rainstorm and on sloppy turf, both teams struggled to control the ball.  Japan shocked England by striking first, as Marcus Tanaka scored just 7 minutes into the game to give his team a 1-0 lead that they’d carry into the halftime break.  England’s frustrations continued into the second half, and they failed to capitalize on a great opportunity to tie the contest when Japan keeper Eiji Kawashimi made a diving save of a Frank Lampard penalty kick in the 56th minute.

England would be unable to score on Kawashimi, but in this game at least that was of little concern since his Japan teammates were generating plenty of offense.  After scoring to give Japan the lead in the first half, Marcus Tanaka became a ‘goat’ after he misplayed a header away from England’s Joe Cole and into his own net to tie the score.
England would be the beneficiary of another own goal just 12 minute later, as Yuji Nakazawa intercepted an Ashley Cole cross and bungled the clearing attempt.  For the game, England outshot Japan 20-12 and held a 63% to 37% time of possession advantage.

Despite the missed penalty kick and the bizarre manner in which his team won, Lampard was nonplussed:

"It was not an easy game. It was not a vintage performance by far but it's about players and the team trying to find their way a bit.  We've played two and won two. We have to take positives from that. It's down to the players. We've stepped up our game. In the first half we were slightly sluggish, and in the second half we got more of the ball and got the ball into their box more quickly."

Asked about his future handling penalty kicks after the miss from the spot, Lampard sounded a diplomatic tone:

"It's down to the manager. I'll always want to take it. It wasn't a great penalty. It's disappointing because I've practised loads this week. I'm always confident in taking them and that will make me go away and work harder. If the manager wants me to take it I'll always step up."

Despite their less than inspiring warm up performances, England remains the third favorite among World Cup betting enthusiasts behind Brazil and Spain.  The ‘Three Lions’ will open Group C play against the USA on June 12th.