A squad filled with big-name veterans and a vastly experienced coach in Akira Nishino at the helm, Japan will hope to channel the spirit of 2002 and 2010 when they reached the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup.
Our Japan expert is Etsuko Motokawa, a Japanese football journalist and author. Motokawa has covered football for over 24 years, attending her first FIFA World Cup in 1994, and she currently writes on Japanese football for several newspapers and websites.
What does Japan expect from the World Cup?
If we can reach the last 16 that would be seen as a satisfactory result.
What's the most important thing for the team to do to have a successful World Cup?
The main part of Japan’s game is that they need to build a strong defensive structure. The opposing teams in our group are at a different level. So if they score, that is it. Like the way Japan played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, defence is the priority.
Which player will have the biggest impact?
The player that head coach Akira Nishino identified as the “influential player” is Keisuke Honda. For this World Cup campaign to be successful, I think he will be used as a right-sided attacker in a 3-4-3 formation or play behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 system.
He is the only left-footed player in the team and has proven to be very important at set-pieces as well. In the end, he is a pivotal player and Japan is still dependent on him, in my mind.
Which is your favourite World Cup memory?
If I am going by the results that exceeded my expectations it would be the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Honda, [Yuto] Nagatomo, [Makoto] Hasebe, and [Eiji] Kawashima were the new generation at the time and have built the foundations of the current team.
But, of course, the 2002 World Cup which was held in Japan and Korea Republic is also very memorable as it was held in our homeland and that boosted everyone. Japan made it to the last 16 which was the furthest that they had ever been at the World Cup. We had an eccentric manager in [Philippe] Troussier; lots of character in [Ryuzo] Morioka, [Naoki] Matsuda, and [Kazuyuki] Toda; and in [Junichi] Inamoto a very young player at the time who succeeded. I thought that the team was very well balanced.
Which one player from the past would benefit the current team the most, and why?
Marcus Tulio Tanaka. Right before the 2010 World Cup, at the player meeting, he told everybody, “We are weak”, which sparked a change in Japan’s style and was the reason why that team prioritised its defensive game. He is originally not Japanese so he is very direct with his words and how he expresses his feelings.
He will speak his thoughts even when it’s something that players might not want to hear. It shows he has a strong mentality which is apparent on the pitch and influential. We need this kind of defender.
What do you predict the starting XI will be?
3-4-3
Goalkeeper: Eiji Kawashima
Defence: Maya Yoshida, Makoto Hasebe, Tomoaki Makino
Midfield: Genki Haraguchi, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Ryota Oshima, Yuto Nagatomo
Forwards: Keisuke Honda, Yuya Osako, Takashi Usami
or
4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Eiji Kawashima
Defence: Hiroki Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Tomoaki Makino, Yuto Nagatomo
Midfield: Makoto Hasebe, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Usami
Forward: Yuya Osako
What are your predictions for the three group stage matches?
vs Colombia: 0-0
vs Senegal: 1-0 win
vs Poland: 1-2 defeat
Japan to go through as the runners-up from Group H!
