Japan at the World Cup

Manager: Takeshi Okada
Captain: Yuji Nakazawa
FIFA Ranking: 40
World Cup appearances: 3 – 1998, 2002, 2006
Best World Cup: Last Sixteen – 2002

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.

Key Player:

Shunsuke Nakamura -

The former Celtic player has been overlooked by manager Takeshi Okada but has recently been granted a move to Spanish side; Espanyol. He doesn’t have youth on his side at 31 years-of-age but he does have bags of European and International experience. The free-kick specialist has bagged 23 goals in 87 appearances for his country and finished qualifying with 3 goals under his belt. As long as the play-maker remains fit for action, we expect Okada to pick Nakamura and that’s a huge plus for Japan. Not only can he bang in a free-kick but he can also create several goalscoring opportunities for the forwards.

Qualification:

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

Qualifying statistics:

- Japan have been an ever improving footballing nation in Asia and have qualified for the previous three World Cups.
- Japan Remained unbeaten at home in Group 1 but could only manage to draw three of their four home fixtures.
- Playing away from Japan could be seen as a big plus for the Japanese as three of their four victories in qualifying came away from home.
- Shunsuke Nakamura, Yashuito Endo & Marcus Tulio Tanaka share the honour of finished qualification as Japan’s join top goalscorers with 3 goals each.

World Cup Potential: 1/5

It’s hard to see Japan make any real progress in South Africa. They’ve never faired too well in world cups with the only exception being 2002. However, back in 2002 they were handed a very generous group and they would need another gift wrapped group if they are to match their best ever record in a world cup.

Current World Cup Odds:         150/1 – Bet365

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