Alberto Zaccheroni was disappointed with Japan's toothless draw against Greece that left their FIFA World Cup campaign in the balance.
Japan were held to a goalless stalemate against 10-man Greece at the Arena das Dunas in Group C action on Thursday - a result that saw both teams collect their first point in the competition.
Greece played 52 minutes with a man less after Kostas Katsouranis saw red for a second bookable offence seven minutes before the half-time break, and while Japan out-passed their opponents 553-117, they still failed to create any real meaningful goal-scoring chances, with the Asian champions' lack of cutting edge resulting in just four shots on target.
With Colombia already booking their spot in the knockout phase after back-to-back wins, Ivory Coast (three points, +0 goal difference), Japan (one point, -1) and Greece (one point, -3) will battle it out for the remaining position.
Speaking post-game, Zaccheroni said Japan's lack of creativity cost them dearly overall: "We are disappointed, we were hoping to win.
"The circumstances were there but the knockout blow was missing.
"We created some chances without managing to take them, even though I was hoping for more goalscoring chances.
"We attacked from the start, we lacked that sharpness in the penalty area."
Japan must now win their final group game against Colombia on Tuesday and hope the match between Ivory Coast and Greece produces a favourable result.
Regardless of the scenario, the Italian boss insists his team will be set up to attack in Cuiaba.
"The last match? We'll play to win, as always."
