OSAKA, Japan, 10 May 2006 — Bulgaria struck in the opening and dying seconds to beat World Cup-bound Japan 2-1 in a Kirin Cup friendly yesterday.

Portsmouth’s Svetoslav Todorov stunned Japan with a sharp near-post finish to put the visitors ahead just 53 seconds into the opening game of the three-team tournament.

Striker Seiichiro Maki equalized after 76 minutes, diverting a fierce drive from substitute Alex into the net from close range to boost his claims for a World Cup place.

Substitute Hristo Yanev snatched a fortuitous winner for Bulgaria in injury time with a 30-meter free kick that evaded his teammates and crept inside Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi’s far post.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose,” said Japan coach Zico, whose side play their opening match at the World Cup in just over a month’s time. “I thought we played well but once again we failed to take our chances and we got punished for it.” Japan largely dominated after going behind with midfielder Yuki Abe forcing a tremendous save from Stoian Kolev and striker Keiji Tamada crashing a left-foot shot against the post.

Bulgaria, missing most of their first-team regulars, face Scotland in Kobe tomorrow. Both teams failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany.

“We were confident we could beat them. But of course it might have been a different game if Japan had had all their best players available,” said Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoichkov.

Japan, without their Europe-based players for both games, take on Scotland in Saitama on Saturday in their final home match before leaving for Germany on May 26.

Zico names his World Cup squad on May 15.

The Asian champions play tournament hosts Germany in Leverkusen on May 30 and Malta in Dusseldorf on June 4 in their final two World Cup warm-up games.

Japan are drawn alongside holders Brazil, Australia and Croatia in Group F. They begin their campaign against Australia on June 12.

Italy Soccer Scandal Simmers

Despite Carraro Resignation

In Milan, the biggest scandal to hit Italian soccer in more than 20 years showed no signs of calming yesterday despite the resignation of the game’s top official, football federation president Franco Carraro. Carraro’s departure on Monday followed the publication of mobile phone conversations between key figures in the game with high-ranked personnel at Serie A leaders Juventus and, in particular, the club’s 68-year-old general manager Luciano Moggi.

In the transcripts released so far, Moggi discusses specific refereeing appointments for games in Italy and Europe and reveals his close contacts with top officials.

While the taps have not produced evidence of criminal acts, they do confirm a widely-held view in Italy that Juventus and Moggi enjoy cozy relationships with leading officials.