Shunsuke Nakamura
Japan also failed to advance to the Round of 16 after finishing the group without a win, losing to Australia 1–3 in the first match. In the 26th minute, Shunsuke Nakamura scored the first goal, only for Australia to respond with three late goals in the 84th, 89th and 92nd minutes. In game two, Japan drew with Croatia 0–0. After defeats in the opening game, both Japan and Croatia seemed reluctant to take any early risks and for 20 minutes, little appeared to transpire. In the 21st minute, however, Niko Kranjčar missed penalty, while five minutes into the second-half, the ball arrived at the far post only for Atsushi Yanagisawa to horrendously miss an open goal, skewing the ball back across the goalmouth. In Japan's third match, it lost to world's powerhouse Brazil 1–4, despite scoring the game's first goal, in the 34th minute, from Keiji Tamada, and finished bottom.