World Cup Team Checks: Japan
April 24, 2006
World Cup Qualifiers
Japan was the first country to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, excluding Germany, who are automatically in as hosts. The team didn't lose a single point in the preliminary qualifiers and ended its campaign ahead of the rest of Group B.
Stars
Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura and Shinji Ono, all of whom earn their salary in European leagues, make up Japan's quick and aggressive midfield and are the men who will get the closest marks when they take the field.
Trainer
Japan's national team takes its orders from Brazil's Zico. The long-time midfield start took over from Philippe Troussier in 2002 after the Frenchman brought the host side past the round of 16 in the 2002 World Cup. Japan saw their fortune turn around under Zico, winning the 2004 Asian Cup and putting in a solid performance at the Confederations Cup in 2005 -- not to mention the flawless 2006 qualification run. Now Zico, and the team, will have to meet the expectations their success has brought them.
World Cup History
Including this summer's tournament, Japan have qualified for three World Cup finals.
1998 preliminaries, 2002 round of 16
Match Schedule: Preliminary Round
June 12: Australia - Japan in Kaiserslautern
June 18: Japan - Croatia in Nuremberg
June 22: Japan - Brazil in Dortmund
World Cup Base
Japan will be staying and training in the former German capital of Bonn.
Outlook
Facing off against Brazil, Croatia and Australia, Japan doesn't have any easy opponents, but has a chance to move out of the preliminaries. Zico has even said he'd rather meet the much-feared Brazilian team in the group round than at a later, do-or-die, stage in the tournament, and even mentioned that the reigning world champions will probably have already qualified for the next round before meeting Japan and possibly not want to tire themselves out in the final game before the round of 16 matches. But no matter how the Brazilians play, Japan know they can match them because they already did in a 2:2 Confederations Cup draw.