Japan unveil 23-man squad for finals

Whereas most coaches heading to South Africa are still digesting some domestic performances, and weighing up some tough decisions as to who deserves to go to South Africa with their respective team, Japan coach Takeshi Okada has already named a 23-man strong squad ahead of the finals, claiming the 23 named are ready to carry the flag and hopes of Japan into South Africa.

For even the most hardened of punter, the vast majoirty of the Japan squad will seemingly appear like an anagram but there are a select few which may just ring a few bells. Former Celtic favourite, Shunsuke Nakamura, will be fondly remembered for his time spent in the Scottish Premier League and a short spell in the Spanish La Liga with Espanyol, while Junichi Inamota has been around the European block and then some, enjoying stints with Arsenal, Fulham, Cardiff City, West Bromwich Albion and Galatasaray amongst others.

From a European perspective, CSKA’s Keisuke Honda was at the heart of the Moscow sides Champions League success in the 2009-2010 campaign which seen them reach the quarter-finals. Makota Hasebe (Wolfsburg), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble) and Takayuki Morimoto (Catania) all ply their trade in Europe without initially springing to mind.

Japan have appeared in three World Cup’s previously, with South Africa 2010 set to be their fourth. Their previous best, however, was just a Round of 16 appearance back in Korea/Japan in 2002. Okada, though, will be looking to better the efforts of the 2002 team in South Africa, saying the Semi-Final’s are Japan’s objective.

Japan will kick-off their South Africa journey against Cameroon on June 14th, while games with Holland and Denmark will follow as Japan aim to bypass a competitive Group E.

Japan 23-man Squad:

Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki, Eiji Kawashima, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuichi Komano, Daiki Iwamasa, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuto Nagatomo, Atsuto Uchida

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura, Junichi Inamoto, Yasuhito Endo, Kengo Nakamura, Daisuke Matsui, Yuki Abe, Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda

Forwards: Keiji Tamada, Yoshito Okubo, Kisho Yano, Shinji Okazaki, Takayuki Morimoto