Japan coach Takeshi Okada insists he was pleased with his players despite their 1-0 loss to Holland.
Japan coach refuses to criticise players
Japan coach Takeshi Okada insists he was pleased with his players despite their 1-0 loss to Holland.
Okada's side went down to a goal scored early in the second-half with Wesley Sneijder striking from distance.
Japan pushed strongly towards the end and could have grabbed an equaliser.
Okada insisted his side were not too defensive before going behind, saying: "During the first half we were not only concentrating on the defence.
"We expected the Netherlands to be frustrated but defence alone was not enough.
"So I told our players to be very courageous and aggressive when we had the ball.
"Our players did everything they could, but we could not beat the Netherlands. We feel sorry for the fans."
Okada also refused to blame goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima for the goal, even though replays showed he almost dived out of the way of the shot.
"As for the Sneijder goal, it was a good shot," he said.
