It was a game that the Blue Samurai needed to win in order to keep pressure on Australia while also maintaining distance from the chasing pack of Bahrain and Qatar

And while a draw was not a disaster for Takeshi Okada's men, a win was what the side dearly needed on this the national day of foundation for the country.

What that in mind, some journalists were disappointed to see the Japanese players laughing and joking after the game when they met the press.

"Our players aren't hard enough. See them after the game laughing. This is not like in Europe when a bad result happens and the players are really disappointed," says Kazuhito Yamada, a local journalist.

Japan now must play tough games on the road in Tashkent and Melbourne. And with Bahrain's 1-0 win over the Uzbeks, they loom as a dark horse should Japan trip up again.

"Look at our players. They are too soft. They would not be like this in other countries if they had a result like that. Your players play in Europe - they know what this is like when they don't get a good result," he added.

He also speculated that under-fire coach Takeshi Okada was likely to hold onto his job in the short-term at least.