“Well, I think it was a tough match because our game plan fell apart right from the start,” said Tabata. “Both defensively and offensively, there were periods where things didn’t go well, and we ended up conceding goals. 

“I feel like we struggled in those moments. We’ll make the necessary adjustments and do our best in the next match. Right now, the players are focusing on recovery and preparation. As for the next match, we want to make sure we execute what we’ve been working on once again.”

Defeat was not one of total disappointment for Abbas Hashem Pour after he saw his side recover from going behind to lead 2-1 as well as fight back to draw level at 3-3 before conceding the winner to Takaaki Oba in the third period.

"We performed well against Japan and managed to take the lead, but we lacked the experience to maintain that, and we made many simple mistakes that cost us the loss,” said Hashem Pour.

"We had some doubts about how we would play against Japan, who we were facing for the first time, but all that evaporated and we succeeded in being competitive.

 "We only had about 20 days of preparation and this I think is not enough for such big tournaments but we are still hopeful of our chances against China (PR on Saturday) in order to ensure continuity in the tournament.”

Venue: Jomtien Beach Arena (Pattaya)

Kick-off: Saturday, 15:30 (UTC+7)

Venue: Jomtien Beach Arena (Pattaya)

Kick-off: Saturday, 18:30 (UTC+7)