Coach : Zico
Zico has not received the credit he deserves as an international coach. The Brazilian, who played in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, took over from Philippe Troussier after the 2002 tournament and has stamped a more South American character on the team.
Key Players
Hidetoshi Nakata is still the poster-boy of Japanese football and, while his talent is essential to Japan, Nakamura offers more substance when on form despite having less global experience than his midfield colleague. Nakamura missed the last World Cup under Troussier but his exploits in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic could be perfectly-timed ahead of the Germany showpiece.
Form Guide
As expected, Japan finished top of Group B ahead of both Iran and Bahrain having also won the group in the previous stage.
Form Versus Countries In Group
Japan can boast victory over Australia in their last meeting. They impressed in the 2002 World Cup and would have met Brazil in the semi-final had they not suffered narrow defeat by Turkey in the early knock-out stages.
Style Of Play
If they learned from the 2002 experience they can undoubtedly come back stronger this time round. The physical side of their game was found wanting against Turkey when they hosted the tournament but more experience since then should have helped them use their skilful passing and good technique to better effect.
Group Verdict
It is difficult to predict how Japan will do when the games get underway in Germany. Having reached the World Cup at the last two attempts they can boast more experience than Australia. However, Australia have many European-based players capable of stepping up to perform on the big stage which could see Japan finish bottom. |
