Head coach Hajime Moriyasu used the opportunity to give his squad playing time with two completely different sets of teams fielded on either side of the break.Efforts from Kou Itakura, Keito Nakamura, Takumi Minamino, Takuma Asano, Daizen Maeda and an own goal by Jordan gave the former champions a commanding win to the delight of Moriyasu.

“It was positive we could check our concept as a team both in attack and defence,” said Moriyasu.
The Samurai Blue open their Group D campaign against Vietnam on Sunday with Iraq (January 19) and Indonesia (January 24) to follow.

Japan, who are unbeaten in their last 10 matches in all competitions and have scored a minimum of five goals in each of their last four games, will be seeking a record-extending fifth AFC Asian Cup title at Qatar 2023.