Japan Football Association
Coach: Takeshi Okada
Confederation: AFC
FIFA Ranking (Nov 09) : 43
Previous Appearances: 3 (1998, 2002, 2006)
Japan v Cameroon 14 June; Bloemfontein
Japan v The Netherlands 19 June; Durban
Japan v Denmark 24 June; Rustenburg
Coach
Takeshi Okada
Record
1998, 2006 First Round. 2002 Second Round
Background
This will be Japan’s fourth consecutive World Cup. In the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup, Japan had bungled in the last match allowing Iraq an injury time goal, which in the final analysis proved to be their undoing. Instead of three, they got only one point and they lost a place in the finals by a whisker. But that experience seems to have hardened Japan’s determination and they have not missed a World Cup ever since.
the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
As top seeds, Japan were given a bye to the third round just where they were placed in Group 2 along with Thailand, Oman, and Bahrain
Third Round
In their first match of the qualifiers, japan met Thailand, who they white washed 4-1. but the joy was short lived as the Samurai Blue tasted defeat at the hands of Bahrain in an away match. Japan then crushed Oman 3-0 in Yokohama and drew the away match 1-1 at Muscat. The Nippons rounded off their third round campaign with a 3-0 victory against Thailand and a 1-0 win against Bahrain. The Japanese had gathered 13 points and led the group.
Fourth Round
Japan was pitted against Australia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan in Group A. the first was an away in Bahrain. In the previous round they had played twice against each other and both had won one match each. This one too turned out to be a tough one. Even though Japan lead by three goals with only five minutes of normal time, Baharain scored two goals to make the score 3-2. A month later, Japan was held to a1-1 draw by Uzbekistan, but won against Qatar 3-0. Japan drew again at home to Australia in Yokohama. In the second part of the Fourth Round of qualifiers, Japan defeated Bahrain by a lone goal and edged past Uzbekistan by the same margin. Japan rounded off the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Qatar to finish runners-up of Group A behind the leaders Australia. This performance secured Japan a spot in the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa.
Strengths
The Japanese have high-quality skills, precision, and total commitment. They also have
brilliant midfielders, who keep the strikers busy as well as restrict the opposing strikers from home territory. And this time they have Shunsuke Nakamura.
Weaknesses
Even though physically fit, it is not enough when confronting some strong European and African countries.
The Coach
Takeshi Okada was the coach of Japan in the 1998 World Cup, which was also Japan’s first appearance in the premier tournament. Nothing much had come out of it for Japan, but the presence of Japan was announced to the world. Quite a lot is expected from the coach in his second assignment with the national team.
Star Men
Shunsuke Nakamura (Espanyol);
He is a favourite of the coach as well as the fans. Nakamura has superb striking abilities and has a powerful left footer. He excels in free kicks. He missed out on the 2002 World cup held in home soil as the then coach did not favour him. In the next Cup, Japan crashed out in the first round. So Nakamura now gets a chance for performing on the centre stage of football and to make a mark.
Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos);
He is the spearhead of the team in many ways. Nakazawa is currently the captain of the Japanese team. A good reader of the game, he excels in defence and also in set pieces.
Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse);
A prolific scorer, he netted 15 goals in 16 games this year. Okazaki is ever hungry for goals and it augurs well for Japan.
Best Footballing Moment
After many disastrous campaigns to get into the World Cup finals, Japan was so near it in 1998. The play-off game against Iran had gone into extra-time and Masayuki Okano scored the golden goal to earn Japan its first World Cup appearance. .
OBJECTIVE
The projected aim is to reach the semi-finals. High ambition is not a crime, but a challenge.
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