© Reuters Limited 2001

By Alastair Himmer

OITA, Japan, July 5 (Reuters) - Japan coach Philippe Troussier paid tribute to yet another clean sheet from his team after their 1-0 victory over Yugoslavia to clinch the Kirin Cup. Troussier said he was "extremely proud" that Japan had kept their opponents scoreless in all four matches en route to the final of last month's Confederations Cup - which they lost 1-0 to France - and again in their two matches in the three-nation Kirin Cup.

Following Japan's 2-0 win over Paraguay in Sapporo last Sunday and Wednesday's victory over Yugoslavia, Troussier again praised his defenders, in particular captain Ryuzo Morioka. "His attitude used to be all wrong, but he has stepped up and now he's a leader. He is exactly the sort of player I want in big games," said Troussier. After beating the likes of Cameroon and Australia at the Confederations Cup, Troussier had warned his players against over-confidence ahead of the Kirin Cup. But Japan showed few signs of relaxing and were superior to Paraguay and Yugoslavia in every department.

SUCCESSFUL RETURN
With AS Roma playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata missing, Shinji Ono and Junichi Inamoto carried the burden in midfield, while striker Atsushi Yanagisawa gave Troussier a reminder of his talents on his return to the Japan side.

Yanagisawa scored two excellent goals against Paraguay and was a constant menace in both matches with his lightning pace and clever movement off the ball. Ono showed why Dutch club Feyenoord have agreed to pay five million dollars for his services by setting up both goals for Yanagisawa in Sapporo. Inamoto, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal, scored his first goal in 22 internationals against Yugoslavia after a neat exchange of passes with Yanagisawa and a first-time shot from 20 metres that flew into the top corner.

"Yanagi gave me a nice lay-off and luckily I caught it right. I heard (Dragan) Stojkovic say "shoot" behind me so I had a pop," said Inamoto. With Troussier "80 or 90 percent" sure of his squad for next year's World Cup, which Japan will co-host, time is running out for some players. Asked why he left Paraguay-based midfielder Nozomi Hiroyama on the bench for both Kirin Cup games the enigmatic Troussier replied: "I'm not running a circus here. You want to see an elephant and then a tiger? I select my teams in order to win matches."