Japan came out a completely different team

いやっ〜惜しかった！今日はAstroriverくんと駐車場のクルマの中で，後半はあわててインストールしたMac 用のTVで，手に汗を握りながら観戦していました（1st periodの授業がなくて良かった）。

前回のブラジル戦とは見違えるようなチームになっていました。それを表した，Japan came out a completely different team to the one that were hammered 3-0 by Brazil at the weekend.は丸ごと入れておきましょう。
ともかくかえすがえすも残念。（UG）

Soccer: Japan dazzle but KO'd from Confederations Cup by wily Italy

RECIFE, Brazil (Kyodo) -- Japan outplayed Italy, won over the crowd and raised a lot of eyebrows around the world with their performance on Wednesday.

But it wasn't enough to keep them in the Confederations Cup.

Asian champions Japan were eliminated from the tournament after a 4-3 loss to the Azzurri in what was a pulsating encounter that pushed the four-time world champions to the brink of defeat.

Keisuke Honda (penalty), man-of-the-match Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki scored for Alberto Zaccheroni's side, who close their campaign against Mexico on Saturday.

Substitute Sebastian Giovinco had the last laugh in the seven-goal thriller, with Daniele de Rossi, Mario Balotelli (penalty) and an Atsuto Uchida own goal helping the Italians to the narrowest of victories.
Italy will join hosts Brazil, who beat Mexico 2-0 earlier in Fortaleza and also have the maximum points after two games, in the semifinals from Group A.

"It's a fact we played a good game," said Honda, who spoke with the media for the first time at this competition. "But it's also a fact that we lost despite playing well."
"And I have to face up to the fact that I could only score with a penalty. I'll take the criticism. I'm not going
into this and that about the performance."

"Hopefully in the near future, I can play well enough to be able to talk a big game again."

Kagawa was anything but happy despite being named the best player of the match.

"What a waste," the Manchester United midfielder said. "It's disappointing and a tough loss to swallow. We can outshoot opponents all we want but if you don't win it means nothing."

"We cannot gain anything unless we win at this level. There's a huge difference between just playing well and winning."

Japan came out a completely different team to the one that were hammered 3-0 by Brazil at the weekend.
They successfully kept centurion playmaker Andrea Pirlo out of the game and put the clamps on Balotelli, the two goalscorers of Italy's victory over Mexico three days ago.

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130620p2g00m0sp001000c.html