Victory was only secured in stoppage time through Gaku Nawata’s penalty after Myanmar showed great resolve at Thuwunna Stadium to equalise in the 80th minute via Swan Htet, cancelling out Tariqkanihayat Okabe’s 52nd minute strike.

Defender Kosugi, who plays his club football in Sweden with Djurgardens IF, said Japan can take heart from picking up maximum points against Myanmar despite a below par performance.

“We wanted to win the ball more so that we could dominate more but it’s still good because we got a positive result. We have to improve a lot of things but we have the result,” said Kosugi.

“We struggled a bit with the home support Myanmar got but we played as a team and we managed to win it.

“We conceded against Myanmar so we have to improve our defending as well as our attacking, so we’re looking forward to the next game.”

Kosugi and company will be determined to ensure that Japan reach the Finals, being the only team to have won the title twice.