The 17th Toyota Cup
The world club championship between the top teams of Europe and South America
took place at Tokyo's National Stadium on Nov. 26.
Argentine team River Plate was led by manager Ramon Diaz who played for many years in Japan
as the ace striker of the Yokohama Marinos. Unfortunately, his team wasn't able
to celebrate his return to his 2nd home country. 36 minutes into the later half of the game,
Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero kicked in a goal. This gave the Italian club team
a victory over River Plate 1 to 0.
Japan's world ranking
According to FIFA, soccer's international ruling body, Japan has improved its world ranking.
On Sept.26, Japan has been placed number 20. It's the highest ever ranking that an Asian country
has reached.
South Korea has been given 41st place and Thailand 50, The reason for Japan's surge is owed to its
victory in recent friendly matches. Japan defeated Uruguay 5 to 3 in August, and beat
Asian Games champion Uzbekistan early in September.