Japan players shrug off Nakata tantrum

Japan's players have shrugged off scathing criticism from Hidetoshi Nakata less than a week before their World Cup opener against Australia.

The Japan midfielder labelled the side a shambles after they scraped a 1-0 win over Malta in their final warm-up game last weekend, accusing his team-mates of being "gutless".

But there were no hard feelings among the players after the squad trained at their World Cup base in Bonn yesterday.

"We were poor against Malta so he has a right to get annoyed," goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi told reporters.

"There is nothing wrong with him expressing his frustration.

"We can play much better so it does wind you up but I personally didn't take it negatively. I think everyone took it in a positive way."

Kawaguchi added: "It just shows how fired up we are. We have to put things right inside a week."

Playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura was also quick to play down suggestions of a rift within the team after the latest tantrum from Japan's most recognisable player.

"It was nothing special," he shrugged.

"We all know what we did wrong. It was important to get back on track today. We had a day off yesterday and (Nakata) was quite normal today."

Fellow midfielder Shinji Ono backed Nakata's comments before Japan's Group F opener against Australia on Monday.

"The first game is always the most difficult but if we win then I think we can reach the next round," said Ono, one of many players who show Nakata special respect.

"I wasn't really surprised he said that. That's just the way Hide-san is."

Japan, who reached the last 16 as co-hosts at the 2002 World Cup, also play Croatia and holders Brazil in the first round.