Japan coach Zico lauded the performance of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi after the Jubilo Iwata goalkeeper's penalty save earned the Asian champions a 0-0 draw against Croatia in Nuremberg.

Kawaguchi, who spent a brief spell at Portsmouth and with Danish club FC Nordsjaelland before returning to play in the J League 18 months ago, saved a 22nd-minute penalty from Darijo Srna to keep Japan's slim hopes of progressing to the knock-out phase of the World Cup alive.

"My goalkeeper was brilliant, he saved beautifully," said the Brazilian.

"It's not that the Croatian player didn't hit it properly, it was because my goalkeeper did so well."

The performance of the 30-year-old Kawaguchi kept the Japanese in the game, especially in the first half, as Croatia pushed to make amends for their 1-0 loss to Brazil in their opening game.

Niko Kranjcar was in inspirational form in the opening 45 minutes behind strike duo Dado Prso and Ivan Klasnic. The Hajduk Split midfielder was the only player to leave Kawaguchi with no chance when his shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 28th minute seared past the keeper, only for it to cannon back off the crossbar.

The Japanese, who lost their opener 3-1 to Australia, struggled to break through the well-drilled Croatian defence and were left to try their luck from distance, with Hidetoshi Nakata going close with an effort in each half.

It was his drive from 30 yards in the second half that forced goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa into his only save of the game, the Croatian dropping to his left to deny the Bolton man.

But the best chance of the game - in open play at least - fell to Japan's Atsushi Yanagisawa six minutes after the restart. With what was almost certainly the most glaring miss of the tournament so far, the Kashima Antlers striker failed to score with Pletikosa well beaten after Akira Kaji's pass across the face of goal.

"Our problem has always been that the Japan team did not take enough opportunities," said Zico.

"I started to worry. But this has been a problem from the beginning to the end and it is the same for many teams.

"The players come to the goalmouth and when they have to score there is pressure and they tense up. Not everybody can score a goal. We were almost there today. We were at the goalmouth but we didn't get it in."

Despite the draw, Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar was in a positive frame of mind, knowing his team can still go through to the knock-out phase with victory over Australia in the final round of matches.

"I think, given the heat, we played a really good game," he said.

"We dominated but, just as against Brazil, we created a number of chances but unfortunately we did nothing with them.

"We are not disappointed because we still have the last game ahead of us and if we win we will go into the second round."

Zico complained about his side's World Cup schedule after the Asian champions kicked off in the searing mid-afternoon sun for the second time in a row at the tournament.

Japan's games against both Australia and Croatia started at three o'clock in Kaiserslautern and Nuremberg when temperatures were over 30 degrees and Zico, who played three times for Brazil at the World Cup, has called for more to be done to protect his players.

"The players did well but I regret that we had to play two games in a row at three o'clock in the afternoon," he said. "It is criminal scheduling two games at three o'clock.

"The whole world stops to watch these matches and the players are tired. People are thinking more about business than football, people are not thinking about the welfare of the players.

"Football is becoming a business and we are seeing players being used more than normal."

The Japanese held on to draw with Croatia but against Australia the conditions clearly took their toll as they conceded three goals in the last 10 minutes to lose 3-1 to Guus Hiddink's team.

The mid-afternoon kick off times in Germany correspond with 10pm in Japan, peak viewing time in one of the world's most lucrative television markets.

"They suffered because they had to play under the blistering sun," said Zico. "The players feel the heat and make more mistakes. You work hard to get here when you get here you don't get any protection. It's the business that gets the protection."

Zico called on the authorities to address the issue at future World Cups, or risk tragedy.

"I think something should be done because the players really suffer," he said. "We know that because of what is demanded of the players that the health problems increase.

"Players can die in tournaments and we have seen that happen before. Players now have to do very strict medical examinations. Why can't we schedule games at a World Cup a bit later when a player can play better and won't get so tired and burnt out when he plays so early in the day?

"Even though my playing days finished long ago, I would like to make this proposal. We have to be careful because we can have more problems in the future."