|
|
Though ranked 17th in the latest (April 2006) FIFA World Football Ranking, the current Japanese football team is the best in Asia. Gone are the days when Japan was looked as a second-tier team, and today it's capable of challenging and beating even best teams in the world. Japan has shown its extraordinary talents and potential in recent times and today it's ranked as one of the strongest and most challenging teams in the world. In the World Cup Asia qualifying ties Japan won five of its six matches, and after defeating North Korea (2-0) on June 8, 2005, it became the first team besides host Germany to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. This will be the third consecutive World Cup appearance for Japan and the Coach Zico and captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto have their squad ready to rumble.
|
For a long time, Japanese football team struggled to break through, and it could qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals only in 1998. In the 1998 World Cup, Japan ended up its campaign without any success despite a good performance. The 2002 World Cup brought some cheer to Japanese fans when the team moved to the second round, after drawing with Belgium (2-2) and defeating Russia (1-0) and Tunisia (2-0) in the first round. But the Japanese team has been performing exceptionally well on regional level, as it won the Asia Cup in 1992, 2000 and 2004. In the 2005 FIFA Confederation Cup in Germany, Japan impressed everyone with its remarkable performances, where they defeated Greece (1-0) and drew with World Champions Brazil (2-2). Japan is placed in Group F in the 2006 World Cup, along with World Champions Brazil, Croatia and Australia, where the team will play its first match against Australia on June 12, 2006 at Kaiserslautern.
The Japanese squad for the 2006 World Cup is a fine mix of experienced campaigners as well as talented youngsters. In fact, the 23-man Japanese squad has as many as 11 players from the 2002 World Cup squad.
The team has world-class midfielders and strikers, capable of challenging and scaring any team in the world. The real strength of the team lies in its formidable midfield line-up in the form of trio of Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura and Shinji Ono. Nakata is considered the best footballer Japan has ever produced, while Nakamura is a highly talented youngster.
Japan also boasts a free-kick specialist Mitsuo Ogasawara with an exceptional aim and strong leg, fully capable of setting up his teammates for the strike. Shunsuke Nakamura stunned everyone with his wonder goal against Brazil in the 2005 FIFA Confederation Cup in Germany.
|
|
Other key players in the Japanese team include three talented strikers in the form of Masashi Oguro, Seiichiro Maki and Atsushi Yanagisawa. Oguro has showed his class during the 2005 FIFA Confederation Cup and qualifying ties, scoring some vital goals when they were most required. Maki has been other impressive striker in the team who has given Japan a lift in the run-up to the World Cup. If there is any weakness in the Japanese team, it's the Goalie and the goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi is prone to committing silly mistakes. With the good talent the current Japanese squad has, it just might surprise you in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
| 
