2010 World Cup Team Preview: Japan

One of the Far East powerhouses; Japan once again easily qualified to the World Cup. They join Australia, South Korea and North Korea as this year’s Asian Football Confederation’s representatives and hope to leave their mark in South Africa.

Since the creation of the J-League in 1991 Japan has grown into a dominant force in the AFC winning the AFC cup three times, so it’s not surprising that since 1998 they seem to cruise through qualifiers. This time the Samurai Blue suffered only one loss in the last phase of qualifying and it was away at the AFC’s newest and mightiest member: Australia. They finished second in their group and qualified to the final stages of the world cup directly.

SCHEDULE

Cameroon [June 14, 2010 @ 10:00 AM ET at Free State Stadium]

Netherlands [June 19, 2010 @ 7:30 AM ET at Durban Stadium]

Denmark [June 24, 2010 @ 2:30 PM ET at Royal Bafokeng Stadium]

Coach Takeshi Okada, back on helm after taking the team to the 1998 World Cup in France, seems very confident in his team’s abilities. Coach Okada publicly hinted the semifinals as the team’s target, but this year’s draw might have dented the team’s determination. Group games against Cameroon, the Netherlands and Denmark will make even securing a final sixteen spot an extremely difficult endeavor.

The opening game in the city of Mangaung against Cameroon (who will surely have local fans cheering them on) is the key for Japan’s ambitions in South Africa. The Samurai Blue has played the Indomitable Lions in three previous matches in the past 9 years, drawing scoreless once and beating them twice 2 – 0, with their latest victory coming less than 3 years ago. Even though the Lions are one of the groups favorites, Okada’s men are probably eyeing this as their best chance at getting their first ever World Cup victory outside home soil.

If the first match does not prove to be enough of a challenge for the Samurai Blue then they will have to travel close to 500 miles south west to face one of the strongest teams in the tournament. The Netherlands will surely see this game as a must win as they already routed Japan in a friendly in the end of 2009 (3-0 played in the Netherlands)

The closing match with a tough and very consistent Danish team could end up being just a matter of honor for the Japanese as previous results could have them playing for stats. If not, then they will have to face a strong team, led by experienced coach Morten Olsen, which played superb soccer during qualifiers in order to finish first in their group.

KEY PLAYERS

Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos) is Japan’s biggest name. He recently returned to the J-League, from a failed adventure at Cataluña’s other big team; Español. His return assures he gets enough first team playing time to be considered for the National team. A masterful free kick taker with great creativity and vision on midfield, Nakamura will be the one directing the team’s attacks in South Africa.

Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos) is the captain of the Samurai Blue and is a living legend in Japanese soccer. With over 100 international caps and previous World Cup experience, Nakazawa is the main pillar of a strong but sometimes absent minded Japanese defense.

The newest, currently hottest soccer star in Japan is Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow) He showed signs of amazing skills in the Champions League games against Sevilla and is one of the few players guaranteed a spot in the final team. A hard working and very mobile midfielder who has a strong long range shot.

Another pair of players who have an almost assured spot in the final squad are Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble Foot 38) and Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg) Matsui has enough international experience to help the Japanese midfield while Hasebe has slowly become a key player in last year’s German Bundesliga champions.

Finally it would be surprising not to see Takayuki Morimoto (Catania) make the final list. The lack of first team play in Italy might have moved him out of the limelight, but this young striker has proven himself by performing well in a tough league. 

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

With a midfielder with great vision such as Shunsuke Nakamura and players with great mobility and shooting abilities like Honda and Hasebe, Japan will have an impressive midfield. This fits right into Okada’s playing style. Expect to see Japan playing a defensive 4-2-3-1 with two creative midfielders pushing as forwards on attacking plays. Samurai Blue will showcase a very conservative playing style that will make it hard for other teams to pass the ball around. Their main strength this World Cup will be their ability to disrupt their opponents play.

Japan’s defense has the experience but always seem to be a little out of the game. Nakazawa; the team’s captain made a public call to his team to be wary of concentration slips late in games, especially when facing such offensive threats as Samuel Eto’o, Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben or Nicklas Bendtner.

Aside from any defensive worries, Japan’s biggest problems come up front. The team lacks a real world class striker and the fact that Nakamura is their biggest goal threat speaks volumes of the problems they will have scoring this summer.

IT WOULD BE A GREAT WORLD CUP IF...

Coach Okada delivers and takes his team to the semifinals in South Africa. This would mean getting past the group stage and then possibly having to beat teams such as Italy, Brazil or Spain in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively. If Samurai Blue would have not set their bar so high before the tournament then it would be a great tournament if they manage to get their first win outside home soil in a World Cup on this, their 3^rd attempt.

IT WOULD BE A DISASTER IF…

This trip to the World Cup end the same way as the one to France in 1998 did. Japan managed to score only one goal in their 2-1 defeat to Jamaica and crashed out without a single point from the group stage. Coach Okada resigned after that defeat in the hands of the Reggae Boys.

MY PREDICTION

I want to believe coach Okada. Why can’t Japan secure a spot in the final four? The answer is simple; they face a very strong Cameroon side in African soil, a very strong Netherlands team that is hungry for the title and a very solid Denmark team that was capable of outplaying both Ronaldo’s Portugal and Ibrahimovich’s Sweden to get to the World Cup.