Japan's Final 23-Man 2010 World Cup Roster Named Early

Two days before the provisional squad’s deadline, Coach Takeshi Okada shows his resolve and eagerness to start working towards his World Cup goal. The final 23 players list came in yesterday without any big surprises.

After Japan’s last friendly defeat against Serbia, where Coach Okada tested a few new local players and was handed a crushing 3–0 defeat (with the added bonus of local fans booing their team) the list looks now a lot more like the usual list from qualifiers.

THE LIST

As expected the final list includes all the players stationed in Europe plus a list of experienced J League players. Below I’ll go over the list player by player.

GOALKEEPERS

The only minor surprise in the squad comes in the form of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. The very experienced goalkeeper will fulfill the role of third string goalkeeper and is being brought on for his leadership skills. Below is the complete list:

Seigo Narazaki is 34 years old and is starter for the Samurai Blue. He currently plays for the Nagoya Grampus and has already 75 caps with the national team. He has played in the three previous World Cups.

Eiji Kawashima is 27 years old and currently plays for Kawasaki Frontale. He has only 8 caps under his belt as a member of the Japanese National Team. He was part of the team that finished fourth in the Asian Cup in 2007.

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi is 34 years old. He currently plays for Jubilo Iwata and had a short stint in England playing for Portsmouth in the early 2000’s. One of the two players with over a hundred caps for the Samurai Blue with 116.  He played in all three previous World Cups as well as the Asian Cups in 2000, 2004 & 2007.

DEFENDERS

No surprises on defense. Captain Nakazawa will lead a defensive group that needs to be sharp to have any chances of getting through their extremely tough group.

Yuji Nakazawa, the captain is 32 years old and plays for Yokohama F. Marinos. He played in the World cup in Germany 2006 and the Asian Cups in 2000, 2004 & 2007. He is the other player with over 100 appearances with the Samurai Blue (102) and will be the heart of the team this summer.

Marcus Tulio Tanaka was born 29 years ago in Brazil. He plays for Nagoya Grampus and this will be his first World Cup. He has 37 caps with the first team and has proven his ability to score as well as defend.

Yuichi Komano is 28, plays for Jubilo Iwata and has 51 appearances in international play. He was also part of the World Cup squad back in 2006.

Yuto Nagatomo is 24 years old and plays for FC Tokyo. He has never played in a World Cup.

Atsuto Uchida is the youngest defender in the team at 22. He plays for the Kashima Antlers and just started playing for the Samurai Blue in 2008 still he has a good 31 caps to his name.

Daiki Iwamasa is 28 and plays for the Kashima Antlers. He has only worn Japan’s blue jersey twice in international action.

Yasuyuki Konno, 27 plays for FC Tokyo.  He is also looking forward to his first World Cup appearance.

MIDFIELDERS

This is where Japan excels; the names are the expected ones and Coach Okada hopes the amount of talent here will be enough to get one of those desired final four spots.

Junichi Inamoto is 30 years old and has played for the likes of Arsenal, Fulham and Galatasaray. He currently plays for Kawasaki Frontale. He has 79 appearances with the blue jersey and played in the two previous World Cups, scoring twice in 2002.

Shunsuke Nakamura is the team’s big star and will turn 32 on the day Japan plays Denmark. He is currently enjoying his return to Yokohama F. Marinos, but had a famous run with Celtic where he was awarded the PFA player of the year award in Scotland. He has appeared in 95 games with the Samurai Blue and will get to 100 caps during the first stage of the World Cup. He played the World Cup in 2006.

Keisuke Honda is Japan’s rising star and one of the players to watch during this World Cup. He turns 24 a day before his debut in the World Cup against Cameroon. Honda had a great year with CSKA Moscow with shining performances in the knockout stages of the Champions League and will hope to emulate that during this summer’s competition.

Daisuke Matsui is 29 and is a regular in the French League. He is a very solid midfielder that has 22 appearances with the Samurai Blue and will be hoping to make the best of this, his first World Cup.

Makoto Hasebe at 26 owns the right midfield at VfL Wolfsburg. He has 28 caps and will be hungry for a win with his national team in this his first World Cup.

Kengo Nakamura is the other Nakamura. Not related to Shunsuke but usually plays a similar role to him in midfield when he gets a chance to play. At 29 years old he has made 44 appearances for the national team. He plays for Kawasaki Frontale.

Yasuhito Endo is 30 years old and plays for Gamba Osaka. He is close to 100 caps with the national team at 91 and already has World Cup experience from playing back in 2006.

Yuki Abe plays for the Urawa Reds. At 28 he has 42 caps with the Samurai Blue, but no previous World Cup experience.

FORWARDS

The weaker positions for the Japanese are up front, where there is no real threat for opponents. In this final list there are no big names, but there are big hopes for a couple of strikers.

Shinji Okazaki is the big hope at forward for Japan. His scoring rate when wearing the blue shirt is astounding. He has scored 16 goals in only 25 games and at 24 years old might be the striker that the Samurai Blue could rely on for a while. He plays for Shimizu S-Pulse, but don’t be surprised if he gets offers from European teams after this World Cup.

Takayuki Morimoto, the Japanese Ronaldo. Playing for Serie A side Catania, he has been compared to the mythical Brazilian striker due to his ability on the field and physique. He has only played three times for the Samurai Blue and has 1 goal to his name already. He turned 22 years old 4 days ago and is the other player expected to surprise soccer lovers this summer.

Yoshito Okubo will turn 28 years old 2 days before the World Cup kicks off. The Vissel Kobe striker spent some time at Mallorca and Wolfsburg with little success. This will be his first World Cup.

Keiji Tamada is the only forward from the list with previous World Cup experience. He played with the national team in 2006. At 30 years old he knows this will be his last World Cup and if he gets some time on the pitch will try to make the best of it. He currently plays for Nagoya Grampus.

Kisho Yano plays for Albirex Niigata. He has 17 caps with the national team and is 26 years old. This will be his first World Cup.

With this finalized squad, Coach Okada will start preparing on May 21^st for the World Cup. Friendly matches are already lined up pre-tournament including a game against Ivory Coast that was surely setup as preparation for the Cameroon match. We’ll have to wait for June 14^th to see if this squad share’s Takeshi Okada’s confidence and has a chance to return to Japan with his mission accomplished.