Honda vows to up his scoring for Japan

Playmaker Keisuke Honda has pledged to get his shooting boots on after being chastised by manager Alberto Zaccheroni for failing to score in Japan’s 1-0 win over Iraq in a World Cup qualifying match. The Blue Samurai, playing without injured Manchester United rookie Shinji Kagawa, outdid Iraq 13-6 on shots with CSKA Moscow midfielder Honda attempting five of them, all in the second half. But it was a close-range header in the 25th minute by J-League striker Ryoichi Maeda that left Japan at the top of Asia’s Group B on 10 points with Jordan second on four points. Iraq, Australia and Oman were level on two. Honda said Zaccheroni had told him after the match in Saitama that he was “not satisfied because you could have scored more goals”. “Not many people would tell me to get goals,” the 26-year-old told Japanese media. “So the manager is very valuable for me. I am thankful because he never seems to be satisfied with me.”