Betting odds Japan

Manager: Takeshi Okada
Captain: Yuji Nakazawa
FIFA Ranking: 45
World Cup appearances: 3 – 1998, 2002, 2006
Best World Cup: Last Sixteen – 2002

Japan Team Profile

Japan have been a force to be reckoned with in Asia over the past decade of so. They’ve won three AFC Asian Cup’s with their most recent success coming in 2004. However, age is catching up with some of their more recognised players and the Japanese squad will be somewhat of an unknown quantity with a mix of youth and experience in the squad.

Japan came through qualification fairly comfortably in the end although manager Takeshi Okada will be disappointed with the number of draws his side had to endure on home soil. All three of their draws in qualification came in Japan but that will be seen as a minor technicality now that they’ve qualified for the world cup in South Africa, while playing on opposition soil might actually play into their hands if their qualifying record is anything to go by. Three of their four victory’s in qualification came away from home so the pressure of entertaining the large number of home supporters won’t be a burden in South Africa.

Manager

Takeshi Okada is a former Japan international himself so it was only natural for him that he would one day take over the reigns on the international front. He played 24 times for his country scoring just the one goal between 1980-1985. This will be Okada’s second stint as Japan manager after leading them to the 1998 World Cup in France where they finished bottom of group H without a single point to their name.

Takeshi Okada‘s second appointment as manager came via a bit of misfortune as former manager Ivica Osim suffered a stroke which led to those in charge having to find a suitable replacement. That replacement was indeed Takeshi Okada and after taking over in December 2007, he has led Japan to their fourth World Cup.

Japan Key Players

The key player for Japan will be former Glasgow Rangers ace, now Espanyol star, Shunsuke Nakamura. He has bags of European experience from his time with Rangers, enjoying several seasons in the Champions League and pitting his wits against some of Europe’s finest. Unlike most in the Japan squad, Nakamura will know exactly what to expect from some of their opponents in South Africa thanks to some valuable Champions League ties.

Keisuke Honda, who in 2009 signed for Russian giants CSKA Moscow, is another player with talent, a star in the making if you’re to believe the hype. Again, we seen a lot of Honda during last seasons Champions League campaign, of which Honda played a big role in getting CSKA into the quarter-finals against all odds. In fairness, though, he didn’t really do it for us, although he’s energetic and ambitious so it’s easy to see why the Japanese expect big things from him.

A player we know nothing at all about, but looks an integral part of the Japanese set up, is Yuri Nakazawa, a player with 102 international caps to his name and a player who participated in both the 2002 and 2006 World Cup for Japan. It goes without saying that his experience in the heart of the Japan defence will aid them well over the summer in what will be testing surroundings for Japan.

Japan Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Asia
Group: 1
Position: 2nd
Win-Draw-Lose: 4-3-1
Goals Scored: 11
Goals Conceded: 6

World Cup Potential: 1/5

The Japanese have never really had a team to be reckoned with, at least not outside of the Asian continent. In Asia though, Japan have the been the leading player, winning three of the previous five editions of the Asian Championships, but have seemingly failed to produce the standard needed against teams from all across the globe. Their squad isn’t really recognisable to us, with many applying their trade over in Japan in a J league which is steadily growing in terms of global following and the fan base back home in Japan. However, we seen quite a bit of them during qualifying and they were nothing special. What was extremely concerning was their lack of physical strength, so they may struggle to hold their own in South Africa against some physically tough and well equipped nations.

Japan World Cup Betting Odds

Japan to win the World Cup:         250/1 – Bet365

Before the World Cup the odds on Japan were 400/1 

Official Japan World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)

Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders

Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos)

Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus)

Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata)

Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers)

Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)

Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)

Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders

Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F. Marinos)

Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale)

Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)

Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)

Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble)

Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)

Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg)

Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)

Strikers

Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)

Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe)

Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)

Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)

Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Japan Fixtures – Group E

29/06 – 15.00 – Round of the last 16: Japan – Paraguay: 3-5 pen.

World Cup 2010 Group E - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

Holland look to affirm World Cup Betting Odds with second victory

One of the most in form teams in the World, Holland, will look to book themselves a place in the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, by taking three points off Japan on Saturday. The Netherlands opened their account with a comfortable 2-0 victory of the defensive minded Denmark, and on display were the slick passing moves that have pushed Holland up near the top of World Cup betting odds. They were not quite as efficient as had been expected, if you are looking at the match with a critical eye, but still, it was more than enough to get them over the line against Denmark. One thing which will help the Dutch, is that they should be able to comfortably build momentum, even though they came into the tournament on the back of some great form. They have traditionally been the side which blew it on the big occasion, the nation which has far too often crumbled when they are the threshold of achieving something big. Now, however, things look a little different, as coach Bert Van Marwijk has been pressing home the need for the Dutch to remain calm and go about their business with their feet on the ground. Holland still have the capacity to play some of the most attractive football at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as their pace and movement is something to be admired. But they have ran into walls when they have had to dig deep and scrap it out in physical games. Even though the Danes sat back against, the Dutch had enough guile to break them down, but they will face much more difficult tasks.

Next on the menu for Holland, are the Japanese, which will pose a whole different type of opposition than the Danish. Japan will probably play a bit more of an open match, and will have more pace than the Danish. That actually sounds like a recipe for disaster against the Dutch, who can pass any team off the pitch. A place in the second round is at steak, and as expected, Holland really should push on and win the group with ease. So strong have the Dutch been backed lately, that bookmakers have consistently been cutting their odds as outright winners of the tournament. There is the possibility that Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben will get a run out against Japan as he continues his rehabilitation from what seemed a tournament threatening injury. His replacement, Rafael van der Vaart did not really hit the spot against Holland, and Robben, who has had an amazing season, would be welcomed back. Playing at full speed and full potential will sit up and make any participating in the 2010 FIFA World take notice. They were graced with a pretty easy group by their standards, and with Wesley Sneijder pulling the strings in midfield, the Dutch should continue to look strong, collected and untroubled as they head towards the second round.

Holland World Cup Betting: Should Holland, now they will have gotten any first match nerves out of the way, win comfortably? Yes. They will have seen Germany and Argentina enjoy goal fests, and there is no reason why the Dutch can’t do it against Japan, who are not the force they used to be. Holland to win by 3 goals or more at decently priced at 7/2 at SkyBet, while Holland to win by 2 goals is a decent 10/3 at Bet365. If you fancy Robin van Persie to get in amongst the scoring, then he is 21/20 at Bet365 as an anytime scorer. Dirk Kuyt is also nicely priced at 2/1 with Bet365. Looking at the tournament as whole, Holland are 9/1 at Bet365 to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Holland Asian Handicap Betting Tip: A comfortable -1 is 9/10 at Bet365, as Holland will be expected to win by at least one goal.

Holland World Cup 2010 Stats
Played: P1, W1, D0, L0
GF/GA: 2/0
Cards: Y2, R0
Most Shots: Two Players, 2
Top Scorer: Dirk Kuyt, 1
Shots/On Goal: 18/7
Fouls Committed: 13
Total Passes: 576
Pass Completion: 80%
Last 5 Form: WWWWW
 

Blue Samurai exceeding expectations

The Blue Samurai will have been immensely delighted with their three points earned against Cameroon in their first match. Japan ran out 1-0 winners, with a goal from midfielder Keisuke Honda, but while they took the three points, the game still raised enough questions to suggest that Japan really to pick up their game if they are going to get anything out of Holland. With their first three points in the bag, Japan will probably go into this match without much pressure on their shoulders, as they will not be expected to win. There were doubts whether they would even be able to take anything off a Cameroon side which are lacking in confidence and ability. But the Blue Samurai showed an unexpected turn of pace, which resulted in a spirited performance. With a final game to come against Denmark, who are not an expansive side, Japan will still be fairly confident on pushing on to the second round. They were not expected too at the beginning of the tournament, as they have undergone quite a transitional period, with their golden generation having passed on. They are a nation in rebuild mode, and that means there was not the expectation of quality from Japan. But they dug deep enough to beat Cameroon in an evenly contested match, and now, if they can steal an unlikely point against the Netherlands, they will have already had a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. But they will have to be tighter, and keep the ball better if they are to go anyway in matching the Dutch.

Japan World Cup betting: The Blue Samurai are not expected to take anything from Holland in this match, with the Dutch clear outright favourites in the match. Realistically the best that Japan could hope for would be a draw, and that would be the best way to go in your betting with them. They will set out to stifle and frustrate the Dutch. The best option for doing that, would be giving them a big Asian Handicap advantage, as they really do not pack much punch up front.
Japan Asian Handicap Betting tip: +1.25 for Evens at Paddy Power, gives you coverage up to Japan losing by one goal.

Japan World Cup 2010 Stats
Played: P1, W1, D0, L0
GF/GA: 1/0
Cards: Y1, R0
Most Shots: Keisuke Honda, 2
Top Scorer: Keisuke Honda, 2
Shots/On Goal: 5/5
Fouls Committed: 20
Total Passes: 389
Pass Completion: 59%
Last 5 Form: DLLLW

Holland v Japan Betting Odds

Holland to win: 4/9 at Bet365
Draw: 7/2 at Stan James
Japan: 9/1 at Boylesports
 

Current Holland v Japan Odds:

World Cup Group E Teams: Holland, Denmark, Cameroon, Japan. This is one of the groups at South Africa 2010 which may not attract a great deal of World Cup betting, but as with all of the groups, it should not be overlooked. Why? Because there are always opportunities to make a profit with World Cup betting, it is picking out the best prices with the most potential. Here we continue our series and look at some of the best value bets that can be found in Group E. The eventual winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, may realistically not come from Group E, but it does contain a very strong outsider in the Netherlands. However the rest of the group may be lacking in the kind of quality that will take a nation to the knockout rounds, so the gulf in class can help your betting strategy. When there is clear divides, World Cup football betting may not offer the best prices, but it does offer some securing to add to things like multiple bets at your online bookmaker.

Outright Market: Holland 4/7 at Ladbrokes
The Dutch are enjoying one of the most solid looking approaches to the World Cup. During their international friendly matches, they have beaten the USA, thumped Ghana and Hungary and prior to all of that, made France look woeful. Holland have shortened in World Cup Odds to go out and win the tournament, but were rocked by the potential that they will be without one of their in form stars, Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben. Robben picked up a hamstring in injury after scoring twice in their demolition of Hungary, 6-1. Now there is a wait to see if the former Chelsea player will be able to make the World Cup, although Dutch Coach Bert Van Marwijk has not replaced him. The Dutch have a lot of quality in their side, but they have not attracted the level of betting that the likes of the disjointed Argentina have. This is a bit of a mystery, because if you paired both them together, right now on the current form of the teams, you would back the Netherlands. Holland have always been credited with playing beautiful football, but without enough grit and fight when it comes to the business end of tournaments. After going through the European qualification zone without dropping a point, and looking fluent and potent in front of goal during their international friendly warm up matches, Holland suddenly seem like a very strong bet. Even at these odds, they are pretty good value for backing, in a group which they should win at a canter.

To Qualify: Denmark Evens at Stan James
Denmark probably represents the best chance of the other teams to get out of the group. They finished top of their qualification in Europe, edging out Sweden, Hungary and Portugal. That was a tough, tight group, one that required a lot of fight to get through. Denmark put away sixteen goals during qualification and only conceded five. When they take the field at the World Cup, there is little doubt that they will set their stall out with a tight game plan. They have a little more fire power than you may think, notably Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner and ex-Chelsea star Jesper Gronkjaer. They won’t be short of class when it comes to putting away chances, and one thing the Danes have shown, is that they know how to defend, and how to do it well. Whether that means ten men behind the ball, then so be it. They should be a hard team to break down, and that is the reason why this bet makes such good value. Evens for them simply To Qualify ahead of Cameroon and Japan, is a great deal for the Europeans, who lost only one of their ten qualification matches.

Not to Qualify: Cameroon 4/5 at SkyBet
You think of Cameroon and you automatically think of Roger Milla dancing around the corner flag in a goal celebration. The Cameroon side of today, is nowhere near as gung-ho or talented as the one that gave England a scare at the quarter final stage of Italia ‘90. After a dismal showing at the African Cup of Nations at the beginning of the year, and with the bother over star striker Samuel Eto’o making up his mind whether he should participate or not after some harsh words spoken about him in the press by Milla, Cameroon look a shadow of their former selves. After drawing with Slovakia, suffering a 3-1 loss against Portugal, and then conceding the lead twice against Serbia, Cameroon have been struggling in international friendly warm up matches, against teams who have also qualified for the World Cup. Coach Paul Le Guen has an uphill struggle with Cameroon, and do not be surprised to see them looking like they are lacking interest and fight at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Betting against them could well bring some decent rewards looking at the best bookmakers for betting on the World Cup. 

To Finish Bottom: Japan 5/6 at William Hill
Should be a strong contender for the wooden spoon along with Cameroon in this group. Much like the Cameroon which wowed crowds across the world, Japan have also fallen from grace and stature somewhat, since breaking on to the World Stage. They play with pace and look gutsy, but all of their eggs are in one basket, and that is midfield. Their strength is in their midfield creativity, but having a side which has been largely rebuild from the last World Cup where they only picked up one point in the group stage, they are not cohesive or strong. Spirited, yes. Talented enough to challenge for qualification? No. They battled hard against a lack luster England in a warm up match, but still lost after scoring two own goals, and that has left them in a run of four consecutive defeats in their preparations for South Africa 2010. Therefore, poor form, and finishing behind Australia in the Asian qualification zone, means that you should largely be betting against them. This bet offer reasonable, if not astounding World Cup Odds but there is profit to be made on them.

Most Group Stage Goals: Holland 11/3 at Bwin
Hardly a surprise, given the blistering form that they are in, and the weaknesses of their group opponents. What is surprising is the decent odds on them finishing as top scorers. This is one to be jumped all over, and in all of their group stage World Cup fixtures you would expect Holland to run up some goals, certainly against Japan and Cameroon. Denmark may be a tougher nut to crack, but the Dutch look very good, and very strong right now. They are packed with creativity, pace and talent, and goals should not be that hard to come by.

Manager: Takeshi Okada
Captain: Yuji Nakazawa
FIFA Ranking: 45
World Cup appearances: 3 – 1998, 2002, 2006
Best World Cup: Last Sixteen – 2002

Japan Team Profile

Japan have been a force to be reckoned with in Asia over the past decade of so. They’ve won three AFC Asian Cup’s with their most recent success coming in 2004. However, age is catching up with some of their more recognised players and the Japanese squad will be somewhat of an unknown quantity with a mix of youth and experience in the squad.

Japan came through qualification fairly comfortably in the end although manager Takeshi Okada will be disappointed with the number of draws his side had to endure on home soil. All three of their draws in qualification came in Japan but that will be seen as a minor technicality now that they’ve qualified for the world cup in South Africa, while playing on opposition soil might actually play into their hands if their qualifying record is anything to go by. Three of their four victory’s in qualification came away from home so the pressure of entertaining the large number of home supporters won’t be a burden in South Africa.

Manager

Takeshi Okada is a former Japan international himself so it was only natural for him that he would one day take over the reigns on the international front. He played 24 times for his country scoring just the one goal between 1980-1985. This will be Okada’s second stint as Japan manager after leading them to the 1998 World Cup in France where they finished bottom of group H without a single point to their name.

Takeshi Okada‘s second appointment as manager came via a bit of misfortune as former manager Ivica Osim suffered a stroke which led to those in charge having to find a suitable replacement. That replacement was indeed Takeshi Okada and after taking over in December 2007, he has led Japan to their fourth World Cup.

Japan Key Players

The key player for Japan will be former Glasgow Rangers ace, now Espanyol star, Shunsuke Nakamura. He has bags of European experience from his time with Rangers, enjoying several seasons in the Champions League and pitting his wits against some of Europe’s finest. Unlike most in the Japan squad, Nakamura will know exactly what to expect from some of their opponents in South Africa thanks to some valuable Champions League ties.

Keisuke Honda, who in 2009 signed for Russian giants CSKA Moscow, is another player with talent, a star in the making if you’re to believe the hype. Again, we seen a lot of Honda during last seasons Champions League campaign, of which Honda played a big role in getting CSKA into the quarter-finals against all odds. In fairness, though, he didn’t really do it for us, although he’s energetic and ambitious so it’s easy to see why the Japanese expect big things from him.

A player we know nothing at all about, but looks an integral part of the Japanese set up, is Yuri Nakazawa, a player with 102 international caps to his name and a player who participated in both the 2002 and 2006 World Cup for Japan. It goes without saying that his experience in the heart of the Japan defence will aid them well over the summer in what will be testing surroundings for Japan.

Japan Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: Asia
Group: 1
Position: 2nd
Win-Draw-Lose: 4-3-1
Goals Scored: 11
Goals Conceded: 6

World Cup Potential: 1/5

The Japanese have never really had a team to be reckoned with, at least not outside of the Asian continent. In Asia though, Japan have the been the leading player, winning three of the previous five editions of the Asian Championships, but have seemingly failed to produce the standard needed against teams from all across the globe. Their squad isn’t really recognisable to us, with many applying their trade over in Japan in a J league which is steadily growing in terms of global following and the fan base back home in Japan. However, we seen quite a bit of them during qualifying and they were nothing special. What was extremely concerning was their lack of physical strength, so they may struggle to hold their own in South Africa against some physically tough and well equipped nations.

Japan World Cup Betting Odds

Japan to win the World Cup:         250/1 – Bet365

Before the World Cup the odds on Japan were 400/1 

Official Japan World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)

Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders

Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos)

Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus)

Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata)

Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers)

Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)

Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)

Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders

Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F. Marinos)

Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale)

Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka)

Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)

Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble)

Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)

Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg)

Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)

Strikers

Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)

Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe)

Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)

Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)

Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)

last update: 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 Japan Fixtures – Group E

29/06 – 15.00 – Round of the last 16: Japan – Paraguay: 3-5 pen.

World Cup Group E - Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results

World Cup Group of Japan