Japan
Japan - Group C (Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast)
Japan, or locally called Nippon, is the one of the most successful Asian Teams and they have qualified for their fifth successive world cup appearance. With a focus on efficient tactics based football, Japan seems to be making strides towards the right direction
Profile - Nippon Ole
The lack of quality professional domestic leagues hindered Japan's progress for most of the 20th century, but with the introduction of J-league, the team profile and national interest started to garner
The appointment of Alberto Zaccheroni, in 2010, resulted in huge advancements in their performance. Under the Italian, Japan managed to register victories over Argentina and France apart from winning their fourth Asian Cup
Not known for fielding tallest players, Japan are surprisingly adept at their air play, partly due to their efficient deliveries from wings. But they need to score more frequently if they are to make any impact. The defense needs to be wary of attacks from flanks and need to improve their box protecting skills
Confederation: AFC (Asia)
Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni (ITA)
FIFA Ranking: 47 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: Samurai Blue
Key Players: Honda, Kagawa, Endo
Legends: Nakamura, Nakata, Miura
History - Top of Asia
Having won a bronze medal in 1968 Mexico Olympics, Japan had to wait till 1998 to qualify for a World Cup. Co-hosting the 2002 edition with Korea, Japan reached their first Knockout stage which they matched in 2010 tourney. They has qualified successively since 1998.
Japan have also won the most AFC Asian Cup trophies, four in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011
Qualifiers - Zaccheroni Japan
The coach has imbibed a new style of play into the national team, which they struggled to adapt initially and losing a couple of qualifiers in the third round. In the fourth round however the strategy paid profits with them topping the Group B with just one loss and two draws out of eight games
Prospects - Underdogs
The group is pretty challenging for Japan. But their fighting spirit and strategic game play may reap benefits if they manage to apply them effectively, especially against the evenly matched Ivory Coast and Greece
Squad
Japan's World Cup Squad has been announced by Coach Alberto Zaccheroni on May 12
Goalkeepers:
Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo)
Defenders:
Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover), Gotoku Sakai (Stuttgart)
Midfielders:
Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nuremberg), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan)
Forwards:
Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F Marinos), Yuya Osako (1860 Munich)
Fixtures
Ivory Coast vs Japan on June 14 at Recife
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