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Japan Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup

Angela Asante, June 8 2010,
We now jump from “Africa in miniature” Cameroon to Japan in East Asia as LiveSoccerTV.com ends its coverage on Group E’s teams.

Japan - Tokyo, Shibuya
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Japan – the country, the football

Officially pronounced “Nippon-koku” or “Nihon-koku”, Japan is an island country situated in the Pacific Ocean. To the south, it has Taiwan and the East China Sea whereas the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia as well as the Sea of Okhotsk are located to the east and to the north respectively.

Japan is actually formed of 6,852 islands with Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido constituting 97% of Japan’s land area as the country’s largest islands. Japan has one of the biggest populations in the world with around 128,000,000 inhabitants – 30,000,000 of which reside in Japan’s capital Tokyo only. The ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ (the definition of the name Japan) experienced one of, if not the greatest, development in the industrial and economic world.

 

The 20th century saw them grow as one of the most powerful nations on the planet. Japan is best known for its influence in science and technology; Car and machinery brands like Toyota and Akai are just few examples of Japan’s popularization in the world's scientific and technologic sector.

Now Japan’s importance in the world of business is far from being equaled by the country’s importance in the world of soccer. If Japan’s national football team (the Samurai Blue) is a major force in the AFC region having won three trophies in six attempts, their pedigree is not the same at the international level.

Perhaps their 2001 second-place finish at the FIFA Confederations Cup will come as their most impressive run in a major international tournament. But in the World Cup, there has never been much to celebrate. In their only three appearances – which came consecutively since France 1998 – Japan’s best result was a Round of 16 finish. That was back in 2002 when they co-hosted the tournament with South Korea.

Now at the 2010 World Cup which will be staged far away in South Africa, can the Japanese fulfill their dream of reaching the semi-finals of the competition?

Japan's national team of players run in celebration as they qualify for the finals of the World Cup

Japan – the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

Placed as top seeds, Japan were given a bye to Round 3 just where they were eventually put in Pot A ahead of the draw along with Australia, Iran, Korea Republic, and Saudi Arabia.

Third Round

According to the draws that were made on November 25, 2007 in Durban, South Africa, Japan had to compete against Thailand, Oman, and Bahrain in Group 2. The Samurai Blue were favorites to top the table and reach the next stage while a runner-up finish would have still assured them tickets to Round 4.

In their first 2010 World Cup qualifier on February 6, 2008, Japan welcomed Thailand at the Saitama Stadium in front of around 35,000 spectators. Endo gave the hosts the lead inside the first half of an hour but the Samurai Blue were soon shocked by Winothai’s equalizer for Thailand a minute later.

Things were leveled at half time but three second half goals from Okubo, Nakazawa, and Maki rounded up a 4-1 victory for Japan. Therefore, the Samurai Blue enjoyed a good start to their 2010 World Cup qualification campaign but they quickly experienced defeat as they lost 1-0 away to Bahrain on match-day two.

Next up, Japan would crash Oman 3-0 at the International Stadium in Yokohama to put their campaign back on track before travelling to Muscat in Oman to hold off their opponents to a vital 1-1 draw. On June 14, 2008, Japan profited of Thailand’s weakness to secure a 3-0 win away in Bangkok.

To end up the Third Round of qualifiers, the Samurai Blue took revenge on Bahrain by clinching a 90th minute winner to seal a reverse of their 1-0 defeat away to Bahrain earlier on. So Japan successfully qualified into Round 4 as winners of Group 2. The Japanese picked up 13 points from a possible 18 and had an average of exactly 2 goals per match.

Japan's players celebrating together after taking the lead during a World Cup qualifierFourth Round

On June 27 two years ago, a random draw for AFC’s Fourth Round was made in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There, it was decided that Japan (who were initially drawn in Pot 2 with Iran) would play Australia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan in Group A’s five-team table.

Japan kicked off the Fourth Round of qualifiers with a match away to Bahrain. So the Samurai Blue had to travel to the Bahrain National Stadium in Madinat ‘Isa again where they had lost 1-0 in the Third Round.

In that game which took place on September 6, 2008, Japan’s Nakamura scored twice with Endo netting a goal in between to offer an overwhelming 3-0 lead to the visitors with five minutes of normal time to go. However, things proved to be less easy in the latter stages for Japan when Bahrain’s Isa minimized the defeat with an 87th minute consolation goal before Tulio’s own goal a minute later almost saw the home side staging a dramatic comeback. The final score line was 3-2 in favor of Japan.

A month later, the AFC Fourth Round of qualifiers resumed with Japan drawing at home for the first time in their 2010 World Cup qualification campaign. Tamada equalized for the hosts on 40 minutes but the Samurai Blue just didn’t do enough to edge past Uzbekistan at the 55,142 packed Saitama Stadium.

Tamada scored again though for Japan, this time in a 3-0 victory away to Qatar on match-day three of the Fourth Round. In their first qualification game of the year 2009, Japan drew again at home. They were held 0-0 against Australia in Yokohama.

To kick start the second part of the Fourth Round of qualifiers, Japan defeated Bahrain thanks to Nakamura’s lone goal which subsequently ended the team’s winless run at home. Japan repeated this result away to Uzbekistan before terminating their campaign with a 1-1 draw at the International Stadium Yokohama against Qatar.

Japan finished as runners-up of Group A behind the leaders Australia after securing 15 points from four wins and four draws out of eight games. By talking hold of the second spot, the three-time AFC Asian Cup champions consequently qualified automatically into the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa.

Japan – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stageJapan - World Cup qualifier

As part of Asia’s Football Confederation, Japan were sectioned in Pot 2 ahead

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