InsideJapan News Network

The coach of Japan's national football team has vowed to take a leaf out of Ol' Blue Eyes' book by doing it his way in the country's next match.

Following a 1-0 defeat in a World Cup qualifier to Bahrain, coach Takeshi Okada has stated he will abandon predecessor Ivica Osim's tactics and add his own creative stamp to the team's on-pitch style, according to Aljazeera.

Mr Okada is quoted by the news agency as saying: "I want to do it my way from now on […] - I had a qualifier soon after I took over and I could not take risks by making dramatic changes."

Bahrain's victory represented their first ever win over Japan in five encounters and took them to a shock leader position in the Asian Group Two.

Mr Okada has called up 28 players to participate in a short preparatory training camp on April 21st, with the squad's next international match being against the Ivory Coast in the Kirin Cup in late May.