Makoto Hasebe's 35th minute goal put Japan ahead before controversy struck late in the second half when Syria were awarded a penalty as keeper Eiji Kawashima brought down Sanharib Malki Sabah inside the area, though the forward had just been flagged offside.

After four minutes of protestations from the Japanese players, the referee dismissed Kawashima and Firas Al Khatib converted the resulting penalty.

The game was level for just seven minutes though as Japan were awarded a penalty of their own that Keisuke Honda confidently dispatched and as Syria pressed for a late leveller they too had a man sent off when Nadim Sabag was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time.

But despite the late drama Zaccheroni was more than happy with the performance of his players.

"It was not too tough a match for us. We scored in the first half and this was decisive because it was a totally one-sided game for Japan," said Zaccheroni. "Even when we were down to 10 players we performed like we had 11.

"The result against Syria was fair and I feel Japan have the potential to go far in the Asian Cup, so I am looking forward to seeing more improvement and development from us."

Japan now have four points in Group B and play Saudi Arabia on Monday hoping to cement their passage to the quarter-finals.

"The Saudis have nothing to lose in the next match so we don't know what to expect of them. They are already out so may play more relaxed but at the same time they may not want to go home with no points," added Zaccheroni.

"We must respect them because Japan is behind other countries regarding preparations so we need to keep playing well as much as possible."

After claiming a famous win over Saudi Arabia in their opening group game, Syria had hoped to claim another formidable scalp today and consequently coach Tita Valeriu sent his players out with the emphasis on the attack.

That plan ultimately failed to secure the three points against Japan but Valeriu has no intention of changing his tactics for their final group game against Jordan next week.

"I was not happy with just getting a draw," he said. "My substitutions during the match show that I wanted a win.

"We played very attacking and were looking for the three points. From now on we will do our best."