Japan took revenge for their World Cup defeat by Paraguay at the weekend, beating the South Americans 1-0 in a friendly, with new coach Alberto Zaccheroni watching from the stands.

Paraguay eliminated Japan from the World Cup, winning 5-3 on penalties in their second-round clash at Loftus on June 29. But yesterday the result was reversed.

After midfielder Shinji Kagawa, 21, netted the only goal, Zaccheroni expressed his satisfaction with his new team.

"It's the beginning of a new adventure. Please always stay with us," the Italian coach told a sell-out crowd of more than 65000 people in Yokohama after Japan's first game since the defeat in South Africa.

"The most impressive thing was that everybody worked really well as a team until the end. It was a very good game for the players and staff. I watched Japan's games in the World Cup. They did what I expected them to do," he added.

Zaccheroni, who signed a contract on Friday, watched the game from the stands as he has yet to obtain a working visa.

Japan's caretaker coach Hiromi Hara said: "We couldn't name the new coach when we called up this team, but we didn't want to make an excuse."

Zaccheroni won the 1998-1999 Serie A title with AC Milan during a long coaching career in Italy

He will take charge of friendlies in October against Argentina at home and South Korea away in the run-up to the Asian Cup in January.

In another friendly played yesterday, Ecuador beat Mexico 2-1 in Guadalajara. It was Ecuador's first victory over Mexico in 14 years, spoiling the debut of Mexico's interim coach Efrain Flores.