Japan coach Takeshi Okada was delighted with the way Naoki Yamada performed in his international debut.

The 18-year old replaced the injured Keiji Tamada in the 39th minute of the Kirin Cup win over Chile on Wednesday and impressed his manager greatly.

"I didn't expect him to do so much in his debut game," said Okada.

"He made mistakes but instead of playing around in a reserved manner, he challenged things. He played beautifully."

Yamada said his dream of possibly being part of a World Cup was a little bit closer.

"The World Cup has been my dream since I started playing football," said Yamada. "I feel… it has come a bit closer to reality."