Japan produced an astonishing comeback and substitute Kisho Yano a last minute winner in Austria on Wednesday to defeat Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland 4-3.
Yano was introduced with ten minutes remaining to win the game for Japan, who were trailing 2-0 at half-time, and put their preparations for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers well on track.
After outplaying the other Euro 2008 hosts Austria last Friday, Japan were left rueing their inability to take their chances as the match finished 0-0 but they had no such problems four days later at the same Klagenfurt Stadium against the team that reached the second round of the 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal.
It didn’t start well however for Ivica Osim’s men and they were two down within the opening quarter of an hour.
Ludovic Magnin put the Alpine nation ahead after 11 minutes and just two minutes later Blaise Nkufo made it two with a penalty kick.
Shunsuke Nakamura fired home from the spot seven minutes after the break following a foul on Daisuke Matsui by Valon Behrami to put the visitors back in the game and the much-maligned Seiichiro Maki equalized midway through the second half.
After 78 minutes, Japan were ahead. Another foul from Behrami gave Nakamura another penalty which the Celtic star stroked home.
Three minutes later however, Johan Djourou put the Swiss back on level terms.
There the score stayed until the final seconds and the intervention of Kisho Yano to give the Blue Samurai a famous win.
Marco Materazzi has given yet another interview touching on the dramatic moments that saw Zinedine 'Zizou' Zidane headbutt him during last year's World Cup final. This time, however, he has offered an apology of sorts to the former French international...
Marco 'Matrix' Materazzi has offered something of an apology to Zinedine Zidane, over a year after the Italian's victorious World Cup final appearance.
During the Berlin clash, Materazzi apparently made an insulting comment to Zizou, who responded by headbutting the Azzurri defender full-force in the chest.
Zizou has barely spoken of the incident, while Materazzi only recent revealed what he actually said - a slur on the Frenchman's sister.
Now, the Inter defender has issued a pseudo-apology through the Spanish media.
He said in an interview, "I want to apologise to Zidane. For me he was a football god.
"But, in saying that, I couldn’t have behaved any other way and I don't think anyone else could have."
Materazzi attempted to show a light-hearted side over the rest of the interview, reflecting jovially on the recent controversy borne of Raymond Domenech's comments on the state of the Italian game.
The French coach speculated about the state of refereeing in matches involving the Italians, but 'Matrix' was unfazed by these comments.
He, indeed, insisted that he had no enemies in football, and it was quite the opposite when it came to Domenech.
Matrix added, "Domenech is smart, I knew that after he named me Man of the Match after last year's World Cup final.
"I knew at the time that I was, but it took him a year to catch up."
Controversially, he revealed his joking nature with Serbian international Dejan Stankovic, saying,
"I don't have any enemies, I have no prejudices. Sure, I joke a lot. I joke with Dejan Stankovic [Inter player], calling him a gypsy, yet we share a room together at pre-season camp.
"It's the same with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and [AC Milan's] Gennaro Gattuso. He's like a brother to me."
'Matrix' is currently recovering from injury sustained against Hungary in Italy's recent friendly defeat.
Germany captain Toni Kroos was voted the best player of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Korea 2007, while Nigeria's Macauley Chrisantus took the adidas Golden Shoe as the tournament's top scorer.
The Bayern Munich starlet received 26 per cent of the votes, which was carried out by the accredited journalists who attended the final between Spain and Nigeria at the Seoul FIFA World Cup Stadium. In addition to finishing as the seven-goal leading marksman in front of Ghana's Ransford Osei and Kroos, Chrisantus also pocketed the adidas Silver Ball, with Spain's Bojan judged the third most outstanding player on Korean soil.
Adidas Golden Ball and adidas Bronze Shoe: Toni Kroos (Germany) - 5 goals, 4 assists, 26 per cent of the votes A key figure in the German midfield, captain Toni Kroos proved why he is regarded as the next great Bayern Munich and Germany No10 with his consistent performances throughout the tournament. His moves and passes across the middle of the park showed the essence of German efficiency, while the playmaker's five goals helped Germany become the most prolific team in the tournament with 20 goals. Kroos opened his account with a brace in Germany's second group match against Ghana, then he added one each against England and Nigeria. But his best goal would be the untouchable free-kick against Ghana in the match for third place. He also set up another goal in that game to become one of the joint-leaders on the assists chart, with four to his name.
U17 Deutschland - Ukraine 2:0 / Toni Kroos (77.)
Adidas Silver Ball and adidas Golden Shoe: Macauley Chrisantus (Nigeria) - 7 goals, 2 assists, 25 per cent Macauley Chirsantus was a nightmare for the defenders who had to mark him. His five goals in the first phase, which included braces against Japan and Haiti, had already made him a strong candidate for this award. His efforts were not spectacular but every one of them was crucial, especially in the second round. Indeed, his clinical finish from close range helped the Golden Eaglets fly over Argentina in the quarter-final, before he scored his seventh goal of the tournament against Germany in the semi-final, his trusted right boot again doing the trick.
Adidas Bronze Ball: Bojan (Spain) - 5 goals, 1 assist, 19 per cent Although he missed a chance to play in the final, Bojan was deemed the best player in the Spanish camp, scoring five goals, including the last-gasp winner against Ghana in the semi-finals. The Barcelona starlet found the net twice in the opening game against Honduras, but he could not score against Syria in the next match before being rested on the bench for the final group game with Argentina. However, the No9 came back to the starting line-up against Korea DPR and found his rhythm, scoring twice with powerful drives into the net.
Bojan Krkic Goal vs Belgium
Adidas Golden Shoe: Macauley Chrisantus - 7 goals, 2 assists
Adidas Silver Shoe: Ransford Osei (Ghana) - 6 goals, 3 assists Despite his efforts to catch up with eventual leading scorer Macauley Christantus, Ransford Osei had to settle with the adidas Silver Shoe. The diminutive forward, who stands at 1.68 metres, chased the tall Nigerian until the final whistle of Ghana's match for third place against Germany, where he scored his sixth goal of the tournament with a glancing header. In fact, Osei got off to a superior start to his chief rival in the beginning when he found the net twice against Trinidad and Tobago in his side's first group game. Osei went on to score two more goals against Germany and Colombia, then picked up another in the quarter-final defeat of Peru.
Adidas Bronze Shoe: Toni Kroos - 5 goals, 4 assists
SEOUL (AFP) - Nigeria reached the final of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Thursday, defeating Germany 3-1 in the South Korean city of Suwon.
The African regional champions will face Spain in Sunday's final in Seoul.
In an entertaining first half, Nigeria struck first, with Macauley Chrisantus scoring his tournament-leading seventh goal in the 10th minute.
German goalkeeper Rene Vollath could not hold on to a shot by Yakubu Alfa and Chrisantus was all alone in front of goal to bang home the loose ball.
Eight minutes later, Alfa scored following another mistake by Vollath, with what appeared to be a harmless left-foot kick.
The ball went straight to the German keeper from outside the penalty box but it spun off his hands and into the net to give the Nigerians a two-goal cushion.
German skipper Tony Kroos pulled a goal back in the 33rd minute, dribbling past defender Kingsley Udoh and firing past Oladele Ajiboye.
Germany nearly equalised in the 38th minute, when Richard Sukuta-Pasu's diving header hit a post. A minute later, Chrisantus was one-on-one with Vollath but his shot rolled wide of the right post.
There were few scoring chances for either side in the second half, as Nigeria sat back to protect their lead. In the 62nd minute, German Kevin Wolze received a fine pass from Kroos but could not beat Ajiboye.
The last goal of the game followed a bizarre turn of events. Just moments before the final whistle, Chrisantus had a goal disallowed for offside.
Vollath picked the ball out of the net and kicked it to a defender. But the ball was carelessly passed back towards Vollath, and Kabiru Akinsola intercepted it and lobbed it over the hapless keeper.
Nigeria will be chasing their third win in this tournament on Sunday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Germany will face Ghana in the third-place playoff match, also in Seoul.