Land of rising hopes

Japan in the World Cup

A number of sporting pundits have said, with completely straight faces, that Japan could win the World Cup this year. Well, could they? KS takes a long, hard look at the boys in blue.

This June, 32 teams will do battle for what is arguably the greatest prize in world sports, FIFA's Soccer (or football as the sport is properly known) World Cup. It will be the culmination of what has been four years of preparation for Japan. Four years since the final strains of Troussie Nippon echoed across Saitama Stadium following Japan's second round exit to Turkey. And four years since Zico took over a side which many felt had underachieved. Especially considering neighboring South Korea's run to the semi-finals.

This will be Japan's third World Cup tournament. The failure of the squad to even get a point in their three games in the France '98 tourna- ment left many genuinely fearful that Japan would fail to qualify for the knockout phase in the '02 tournament. Such fears proved groundless as Japan finished top of their group. Coach Phillippe Troussier was hailed a success and players such as Junichi Inamoto and Shinji Ono were lauded for their skills. That Japan's progress came to a shuddering halt only one game later brought many fans back to the reality that both physically and tactically Japan were perhaps not yet ready to handle the big time.

Since then, new coach Zico has led his side to the Asian championship and to World Cup qualification. These successes have made Zico Japan's most successful coach and as he enters what he promises will be his final tournament many are hopeful that he can add to his achievements.

However Japan's run to the World Cup finals was not as straight-forward as some had hoped it would be. While never in dire straits exactly Team Japan didn't do themselves any favours. A timidity in front of goal left Japan struggling against inferior opponents and fortunate wins over the likes of Oman, Bahrain, Singapore and North Korea have left fans facing the trip to Germany with hope rather than expectation. A potentially tricky tie in North Korea in the final qualifying group was nixed after crowd trouble at the previous game against Iran led the Asian football federation to have the Japan tie played behind closed doors in Bangkok. Japan won 2-0 to become the first team to secure qualification to Germany. This result also left their last game against Iran a virtual non-event as both sides had qualified already.

Japan were drawn in one of the toughest groups at the tournament, with Croatia, Australia and the mighty Brazil. Australia are featuring in their first tournament since 1972. However their lack of tournament experience and being seeded fourth in the group in no way suggests that they will be anything but extremely tough opponents. Australia have in the past struggled to qualify due to two primary factors, an unfair qualification system and exceptionally bad luck. Now that Australia have joined the Asian football federation this should see a dramatic increase in Aussie participation in such tourna- ments as the World Cup.

Many Australians ply their trade away from the fledging Austra-lian soccer league, with many of their top players at English clubs. Australia are strong physically and with being coached by Guus Hiddink, the mastermind of South Korea's run to the '02 semi-finals will be a tough nut to crack. Japan face them first, June 12th in Kaiserslautern with a 3pm kick-off.

Croatia are no longer at the lofty heights of the '98 tournament when they were eliminated at the semi-final stage. However their squad were unbeaten during qualifying and have the potential to spring surprises. On the flipside they can get frustrated and can struggle to break sides down. They face Japan on the 18th in Nuremburg.

Which leaves Brazil, the world champions who have won two of the last three tourname-nts. Brazil have traditionally based success on a miserly backline and they will hope this can continue. This is a squad which truly deserves the name Galacticos so often menti-oned in relation to Real Madrid. The question mark over them may be whether all these awesome talents can gel. The manager has suggested that he may rest players at different times during the group stages, a sign of supreme confidence as well as an acknowledgement that to win this tournament you have to keep players as fresh as possible. Seven games in a month can be an extremely punishing schedule.

Brazil have only lost one group game in the last twenty years and it's difficult to see anyone but them topping the group. The fact that Japan play them last, on the 22nd may be a blessing. If Brazil have already qualified they may rest players and as Japan know from a 2-2 draw against Brazil last year a weaker Brazil is an infinitely more palatable proposition.

Japan will enter the tournament with a number of European based players, many of whom Zico intends to include in his squad. Two of Japan's highest profile midfielders, Nakata and Nakamura play in the UK. Up front Japan may have its biggest headache.

As mentioned earlier Japan can be a bit goal-shy. In the J-league the top goal scorers are often foreign although last year the trend was bucked a bit as Masashi Oguro finished second in the scoring charts. Their lack of physical presence up front may cause problems leaving the scoring duties on the shoulders of set-piece expert Shunsuke Nakamura. Japan's ability to break and score from midfield, something they did with great success in '02 may be of vital importance again in deciding whether or not they progress. Another point will be how their defence copes with the phy-sical challenges that await. How the de-fense measures up to the challenges of the Croatian and Australian forwards will go a long way
to determining qualification for the knock-out stages or elimination.

And so there you have it. Football fans around the world will be tuning in for a feast of the beautiful game from the 9th of June when hosts Germany open their campaign against Costa Rica. What follows promises to be a month of sleepless nights, nail-biting tension, and for one group of fans the glory of knowing they are the world's best. For others feelings may be mixed, from those who feel their team did all they could to those who will harbour disappointment and thoughts of what might have been. For team Japan anything past a second round berth will be deemed a success. But whichever your footballing tribe, be sure to catch as much of the action as you can. It has the potential to be one of the greatest tournaments ever.

Text: Liam Ring • Images: KS