Italian coach Alberto Zaccheroni has received a lot of praise from Japanese fans after their win in the Asian cup. "Victory for Zaccheroni Japan," read the headline in the Nikkan Sports newspaper. Thousands of fans celebrated the win in the streets of Tokyo's Shibuya entertainment district after Tadanari Lee's volley in the 109th minute gave the Blue Samurai the win.

Fans chanted "Nippon! Nippon!" after the match ended at about 2:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The mass circulation Asahi Shimbun ran a four-page special edition with a banner headline that read "Japan, the champions of Asia."