[Raph]

Kawashima had no chance to work his magic
Michael Church / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

PRETORIA--With the encouragement of his teammates ringing in his ears and his confidence at an all-time high, Eiji Kawashima went into Japan's World Cup penalty shootout with Paraguay composed and ready for action.

But, as is so often the case for goalkeepers, there was little he could do to keep the Paraguayans at bay. Kawashima was not destined to be the hero at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

There was to be no repeat of the penalty save the Kawasaki Frontale man made against Denmark in the previous game--when he saved Jon Dahl Tomasson's initial spot kick--or when he faced England in a pre-tournament friendly in Austria and kept out Frank Lampard's effort.

He was not given a chance as Edgar Barreto, Lucas Barridos, Cristian Riveros, Nelson Valdez and Oscar Cardozo all struck with aplomb to send Paraguay through to a quarterfinal date with Spain, leaving Japan thinking of what might have been.

"I'm really disappointed I couldn't save any of the penalties," said the 27-year-old former Nagoya Grampus goalkeeper, who has been linked with a move to Belgian league side SK Lierse.

"I stopped two penalties when we had games against Denmark and England but I was very disappointed I couldn't stop any today."

So accomplished was the execution of all five spot kicks, not even a quiet word from Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who knows plenty about saving penalties at the World Cup, could help Kawashima.

The former Yokohama F Marinos man kept out a spot kick from Darijo Srna against Croatia at the previous edition of the tournament in Germany four years ago, but there was little he could do from the bench on Tuesday evening.

"I told him to calm down and he could be a hero after the game if he saves the ball, but it's difficult," said the four-time World Cup veteran. "That's football.

"I think the Paraguayan players were more comfortable taking penalties, our players looked a little bit nervous. But we were unlucky today."

Despite the loss, Kawashima believes the Japanese should take heart from the performances in South Africa, both against Paraguay and in the tournament as a whole.

"I think we played well," he said. "We lost on penalties and we didn't concede a goal. I think we played well and we should have confidence because of this result. They had chances but we defended well.

"I never knew that I could play at a World Cup and this experience is something that not everyone can have. I now have to progress for the next World Cup with this experience.

"We can go forward with confidence. Even though we're very disappointed with the result today, we have proved that the Japanese team can play much better."