DOHA: Japan's Asian Cup risks being fatally undermined by coach Hajime Moriyasu's reliance on an error-prone rookie goalkeeper and he has left himself with no convincing alternatives.
The pre-tournament favourites face Iran on Saturday in the quarter-finals but serious questions hang over 21-year-old Zion Suzuki, whose confidence looks shot.
Japan have yet to keep a clean sheet in Qatar and the goalkeeper´s mistakes have cost them at least one goal in every game so far.
Suzuki, whose father is Ghanaian-American and mother Japanese, has been racially abused online.
But even if Moriyasu wanted to take Suzuki out of the firing line, he has left himself with two backups who have only one international cap between them.
The coach is paying the price for failing to settle on a number one before the tournament and now faces a decision whether to stick or twist against Iran.
Suzuki, in his eighth appearance for Japan, was involved in a mix-up with a team-mate that led to an own goal in the 3-1 win over Bahrain in the last 16 on Wednesday. Writing in Nikkan Sports, columnist Sergio Echigo said Suzuki had become “a concern”.