Dubai: Asian champions Japan looked promising going forward at last year’s Fifa Confederations Cup but just lacked a proven goalscorer — hence three defeats and a group stage exit.
While the Samurai Blues have exported plenty of midfield talent in Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda, an out-and-out forward has always been missing.
Renowned for tireless work-rate and technical discipline, they keep possession well and produce great build-up play that just peters out in front of goal. Critics will tell you it’s because of their lack of physique and ingrained selflessness. But this summer they may have an answer to that in Shinji Okazaki. The striker has just beaten Kagawa’s record 13 goals to become the highest scoring Japanese in a single German Bundesliga season this year with 15 for Mainz 05.
Honda and Kagawa will still be the ones to watch in terms of guaranteed creativity in midfield, despite warming benches this season at their respective clubs AC Milan and Manchester United. But Okazaki will really have to come to the fore if Japan are to compete. Otherwise, it’s back to a reliance on Honda’s famous pin-point set-pieces — but that’s only likely to nick them a cheeky 1-0 win at best.
Japan like to play a speedy, possession-based game with the two full-backs Atsuto Uchida and Yuto Nagatomo key. But, if they get too far up the flanks, there remains real concern for the exposed centre-back partnership of Maya Yoshida and Masato Morishige.
The same perceived lack of physical strength missing in their strikers is also present in the back line, where there is also a real lack of quality.
And if Japan meets a side with the same kind of brutish attacker they so desperately need, it could get messy.
While Japan’s attributes are plenty, they must find an added oomph if they are to surpass their previous best round of 16 finish.
Japan
Group C
Fifa ranking: 47
Top man
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Keisuke Honda |
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Coach
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Alberto Zaccheroni |
Best 11 (4-4-1-1)
Eiji Kawashima; Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida, Masato Morishige, Atsuto Uchida; Shinji Kagawa, Makoto Hasebe, Yasuhito Endo, Hiroshi Kiyotake; Keisuke Honda; Shinji Okazaki
Squad
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege/BEL), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo)
Defenders: Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter/ITA), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04/GER), Maya Yoshida (Southampton/ENG), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover 96/GER), Gotoku Sakai (VfB Stuttgart/GER)
Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg/GER), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan/ITA), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United/ENG)
Forwards: Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale), Shinji Okazaki (FSV Mainz/GER), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nuremberg/GER), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F-Marinos), Yuya Osako (Munich 1860/GER)
Group opponents
Qualifying campaign
Seeded into the third round of AFC qualification and finished second in their group, six points behind Uzbekistan. They topped their fourth round group to qualify, four points clear of Australia.
World Cup history
First tournament: 1998 (France)
Appearances: (before 2014): 4
Best finish: Round of 16 (2002, 10)
Pros
- The current Asian Champions were the first team to confirm their qualification for the World Cup finals last June, giving them the most time to prepare for this summer’s tournament.
- Twelve players in the 23-man squad ply their trade in Europe and the other 11 who play in the improving Japanese League will want to prove a point to join them.
- Striker Shinji Okazaki became the highest scoring Japanese in a single Bundesliga season this year, topping Shinji Kagawa’s previous 13-goal best with 15 for Mainz.
Cons
- Top players Kagawa and Honda both struggled to get first team starts with respective club sides Manchester United and AC Milan this season.
- Maya Yoshida, Atsuto Uchida and Makoto Hasebe are returning from injury lay-offs, raising questions about their match fitness.
- Crashed out in the group stages of last year’s Confederations Cup with defeats to Brazil, Italy and Mexico, with Zaccheroni’s tactics coming under fire.
