asiancup2004.com　YOKOHAMA – Yasuhito Endo scored the only goal as Japan rounded out their preparations for the defence of the Asian Cup with a 1-0 win over Serbia and Montenegro in Yokohama on Tuesday.

　　The Gamba Osaka midfielder struck shortly after half time as the home side clinched the Kirin Cup with their second consecutive victory following their 3-1 win over Slovakia last Friday and also received a huge lift ahead of their Asian Cup opener against Oman next week.

　　With Serbia-Montenegro also in contention to win the Kirin Cup following their 2-0 success against Slovakia on Sunday, the game in Yokohama proved to be an absorbing encounter with Keiji Tamada squandering good opportunities for Japan while Danko Lazovic and Savo Milosevic proved a constant menace for the visitors on the counterattack.

　　The home side finally broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half as Takayuki Suzuki flicked the ball on for Endo to score the winning goal.Japan coach Zico was pleased with the form of his side, which bodes well for their hopes of retaining the Asian Cup.

　　"Everybody did their jobs and now we have to take this form to the Asian Cup," said the Brazilian to Reuters.

　　"We deserved to win this tournament. The players showed real reserves of strength against very tough opposition," he added.

　　Japan are in Group D at the Asian Cup and meet Oman in Chongqing on July 20 before taking on Thailand and Iran.