Japan coach Takeshi Okada assumed responsibility for his side's World Cup exit at the hands of Paraguay in what could have been his final game in charge of the Blue Samurai.

After an uninspiring 120 minutes of action which produced no goals and only a handful of goalmouth incidents, Paraguay claimed their maiden appearance in the quarter-finals with a 5-3 win in the penalty shoot-out.

But Okada said: "They played until the end and I'm proud of them. I was not able to make them win - that's my responsibility. I didn't make them eager enough. It wasn't sufficient on my part."