World Cup: Japan players accept criticism, but say tactics part of game

Japan players on Friday acknowledged criticism of the tactics that saw them settle for a 1-0 loss against Poland the previous day, but said they were simply doing what was needed to secure the Samurai Blue's first World Cup knockout-stage berth since 2010.The squad returned from Volgograd by charter Thursday night to their World Cup base in the southwestern city of Kazan after becoming the first side to reach the round of 16 thanks to the "fair play" tie-breaker introduced this year.Japan came into Thursday's encounter tied at the top of Group H with Senegal on four points and with an ident…READ FULL ARTICLE