Own goal? Japan coach say team hasn't practised penalties

Japan's Blue Samurai have defied expectations at this year's World Cup, but coach Akira Nishino admits there's one thing the team hasn't practised: penalties.

That's despite both Russia and Croatia relying on heart stopping spot-kicks to secure their places in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

"We've never practised penalty kicks as a team," Nishino told reporters on Sunday in Russia, the Sankei Shimbun daily said.

"I don't think it is really useful to practise for a penalty shootout," he added, saying it was impossible to recreate the pressure players would feel in a real penalty situation.

"Individual players who wanted to be ready trained on their own, but not as a team."