Betting on Japan at the World Cup 2010

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

Group E World Cup Betting Preview: The Netherlands are strong stand out favourites in this group, but the chasing pack in the odds, are all capable of claiming second place in this tight group.

World Cup Teams: Holland, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Holland were drawn in the one smaller qualification group in the European Zone, which meant they didn’t quite have so much work to do to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their cause was further boosted by being drawn against opposition that were always going to have a hard time matching them, and indeed, the Dutch qualified with a 100% record. This is, perhaps, one thing which will cause hesitation when betting on the Netherlands at the World Cup, as they have not really flexed their muscles against top sides. They are on a long unbeaten run, and should be a force to be reckoned with in South Africa all the same. The Dutch are a good passing side, and beat the United States comfortably in the last round of international friendlies. With stars like Arjen Robben, Klaas Huntellar, Van Der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder, Holland possess great ball control as well as an eye for goal when it matters. They netted seventeen times in their eight qualification matches, conceding just the two. The Netherlands are a great price to win the World Cup outright, and while the faces will have changed, the old Dutch philosophy of producing attractive football remains in place. Quite what they will do when they come up against tougher opposition remains to be seen, but they have a lot to make amends for after being so disappointing at the 2006 World Cup when they lost to Portugal in the last sixteen. A country which has always provided a lot of flair, with their total football approach, they have yet to get their hands on the trophy. Denmark are not one of the glamour nations from the European zone, but they really stepped up their game during qualification. In an excitingly tense group with Sweden and Portugal, Denmark won the day thanks to a 1-0 victory over rivals Sweden in the penultimate game. They proved their mettle with a win and a draw over Portugal, who were favourites to win their group, and only lost one match during qualification, a one-nil defeat to Hungary in their last match. Certainly not as full of household star names as Holland, but two stand out players, upon which a lot of their success will be resting upon the shoulders of, are Soren Larsen (who is a race against time to be fit) and Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner. Not the strongest team in defence, and not the strongest team in offence either, Denmark are one of those awkward European teams, against which, ranked teams do not always fancy playing. They could prove to be really stubborn in these World Cup Fixtures and push hard for second place. They are a good stable side, with experience coming from their players plying their trade around Europe, and are a good enough standard to make second place in Group E, a tough battle. Asian representatives Japan, who had the honour of being the first nation to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, will be looking to make headway to the last sixteen of the tournament. They will have ambitions with their rebuilt, yet just as enterprising side, and have proven before to bring some great entertainment to the World Stage with their attacking play. They will have the speed which will cause problems to teams, and it will be a test of how far they have come in their efforts to showcase Asian football. Japan endured a miserable 2006 World Cup in Germany, when they lost all three of their group matches against Brazil, Australia and Croatia. This is their fifth consecutive World Cup, with their best showing coming in 2002 when they reached the last sixteen. If they carry through qualifying form, they can push for second, but Denmark and Cameroon will fancy their chances against them. African nation Cameroon have fallen from their heady days of reaching the quarter finals, and were disappointing along with the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations this year. They do have touches of star quality in the likes of Samuel Eto’o, and if they can get things going, and get some confidence up from their first fixture against Japan, they could be a good bet for second place. Their opening match against Japan could be the crucial match for them, and could make or break the Lions’ hopes of making the last 16. With Paul Le Guen at the helm they have experience, and just need to put things together. A little unpredictable, but can provide a lot of African flair on their home continent.

Group E Betting Stats (World Cup History form in brackets)
(Final outcomes of Golden Goal, Extra Time and Penalty Shoot Out results count as wins or losses)

Netherlands: One of the great sides to watch throughout World Cup history, either for their approach to the beautiful game, or their unpredictable losses at crucial times. Virgin territory for Holland against all three opponents, as they have not played any of them before in the World Cup. (P36, W16, D9, L11)

Denmark: Best result for Denmark out of their three previous World Cups, was a Quarter Final exit against Brazil in 1998. Haven’t played any of their Group E opponents at the World Cup before. Quite a decent record though. (P13, W7, D2, L4)

Cameroon: Good chance of getting out of the Group, but not the strongest of the African sides, and didn’t perform great at the African Cup of Nations. They will need a little more confidence and direction from a sharp start, and they do have the experience of five previous World Cups. Out of those, they only made it past the first stage in 1990, where England beat them in the Quarter Finals. No tournament history against the other teams. (P17, W4, D7, L6)

Japan: Mixed signals from Japan, and this will be a test of how well the rebuild has gone. Not a great history in the World Cup, and they will be looking to improve against teams they have not encountered before in the competition. (P10, W2, D2, L6)

World Cup Group E - Table

Group Stage Fixture List

World Cup Betting at SkyBet for Outright Winner of Group E, has Denmark at 4/1, Cameroon at 4/1, Japan at 8/1 and Holland are favourites at 4/6 (and 12/1 to Win the World Cup Outright).

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