Worst first half performance sees Poland lose to Japan in world cup warm up

In their first away win since beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in October 2000, Japan have beaten Poland 2-0 in a World Cup warm up match in Lodz "I think we were a bit afraid of the strength of the Polish team and the European weather but we managed to deal with both well," said coach Phillipe Tr oussier. "After this victory Japan will have more self-confidence." Poland were crushed 5-0 by Japan in the only previous meeting between the two countries, at the Carlsberg Cup in Hong Kong in 1996. Polish coach Jerzy Engel will now have to re-think his options after a match he considered a dry run for Poland's first World Cup game against co-hosts South Korea. "The Japanese team were simply better than us," said Engel. "Our first half performance was the worst by a Polish team in recent times," said the coach after Poland's first defeat since they lost to Belarus in the qualifying stages last September. (Reuters)