India lose to Japan in World Cup qualifier

Saitama:

India were not expected to qualify for the 2006 football World Cup, however their performance in the qualifiers is turning out to be an embarrassment. They lost today to Japan 7-0 in Saitama in Japan. The hosts who are the current Asian champions were playing without three of their top players including Hidetoshi Nakata and Junichi Inamoto. They scored 3 goals in the first half and 4 in the second half. India currently have just one win from three World Cup qualifier games. They beat Singapore 1-0 but have since lost 5-1 to Oman and now 7-0 to Japan. India will now play Japan at home in September but with only group toppers going through to the next round, it seems more than likely that it will be Japan. India, the Asian Games champions in 1951 and 1962, have defeated Japan three times and lost five other times with the last encounter in 1981.