World Cup 2010 Team Spotlight – Japan
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The WORLD CUP FINALS had their final draw on Dec 4th, 2009. 32 teams were picked out of their respective pots and we now know the matchups for World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Need predictions for Japan ?
From the Coach
Analysis from the coach: “We are not going to change our tactics because when I set this team’s basic tactical approach, it was already done with a view to winning against the world’s biggest teams. Our main target in South Africa is to reach the semi-finals.” Japan coach Takeshi Okada
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Japan will make their fourth consecutive World Cup appearance and will hunting for an elusive semifinals appearance after their failure to get out of the second round in Germany 2006.
Group E: Denmark, Holland, Japan and Cameroon
FIFA Ranking: 26
Japan Odds to win World Cup: +25000
Matchups:
June 14 vs. Cameroon
June 19 vs. Netherlands
June 24 vs. Denmark
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The Samurai Blue has one of the strongest squads in Asian Football and are winners of three of the last five editions of the AFC Asian Cup. While the Japanese fared well on home soil back in 2002, reaching the round of 16, the final result left a lot to be desired.
They will look to turn things around in South Africa this summer.
Japan supremo, Takeshi Okada, is considered to be one of the finest Japanese coaches in Asia.
This is his second stint as international boss after stepping away in 2006. The 53-year- old led the Samurai Blue to their first FIFA World Cup appearance at France in 1998, and later enjoyed success at the club level taking Consadole Sapporo from the second division into the top flight, while leading Yokohama F Marinos to successive J.League titles in 2003 and 2004.
The Samurai Blue will play their first World Cup finals without former Italian Serie A and English Premier League midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata, who led Japan in each of the national side’s games at France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 before hanging up his boots at the ripe age of just 29.
His replacement will be former Celtic playmaker and free kick maestro Shunsuke Nakamura.
The squad is rounded out with another European-based performer, 23-year old midfielder Keisuke Honda. The backline is anchored by 31-year-old defensive veteran and captain Yuji Nakazawa, who with over 90 senior caps to his name is Japan’s third-most capped player of all time.
Japan comes to South Africa after a dominating display in Asian Zone qualifying, but we all know that solid results in Asia won necessarily translate to World Cup success. The Samurai Blue won four, drew three and lost just one of their eight matches in Group 1.
A 2-1 reverse in Australia and a frustrating 0-0 at home against the same opponents were the only letdowns of the final phase.
Even so, the squad finished well ahead of group foes Bahrain, Qatar and Uzbekistan.
For Japan to have any chance to equal their 2006 mark, they will need dead-ball specialist Nakamura to make some magic, but it wont be easy filling the boots of the iconic Hidetoshi Nakata.
Another early departure is more likely.
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Matt Martz is a sportswriter for the Bakersfield Californian located in Central California. “ Football (soccer) is a game in which a handful of fit men run around for one and a half hours watched by millions of people who could really use the exercise.”
