JAPAN

[Helios]

Japanese National Team

Nickname: サムライ・ブルー (Blue Samurai), ザック・ジャパン (Zac Japan)

Team Kits:

• Blue, White, Blue
  
• White, Blue, White
  

Official Website: jfa.or.jp

Manager: Alberto ZACCHERONI

Team Roster:



Goalkeepers:
1. Eiji KAWASHIMA - SK Lierse
21. Shusaku NISHIKAWA - Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Defenders:
2. Masahiko INOHA - Vissel Kobe
3. Yūichi KOMANO - Júbilo Iwata
5. Yuto NAGATOMO - FC Internazionale
6. Atsuto UCHIDA - Schalke 04
12. Hiroki SAKAI - Kashiwa Reysol
15. Yasuyuki KONNO - Gamba Osaka
16. Yuzo KURIHARA - Yokohama F. Marinos
22. Maya YOSHIDA - VVV-Venlo
24. Tomoaki MAKINO - 1. FC Köln

Midfielders:
4. Keisuke HONDA - CSKA Moscow
7. Yasuhito ENDO - Gamba Osaka
8. Hiroshi KIYOTAKE - Cerezo Osaka
10. Shinji KAGAWA - Manchester United
13. Hajime HOSOGAI - FC Augsburg
14. Kengo NAKAMURA - Kawasaki Frontale
17. Makoto HASEBE (C) - VfL Wolfsburg

Strikers:
9. Shinji OKAZAKI - VfB Stuttgart
11. Mike HAVENAAR - Vitesse Arnhem
18. Ryoichi MAEDA - Júbilo Iwata
19. Tadanari LEE - Southampton
23. Ryo MIYAICHI - Arsenal

Formation:

----------------KAWASHIMA

UCHIDA---YOSHIDA---KONNO---NAGATOMO

------------HASEBE------ENDO

-------------------HONDA
---OKAZAKI-----------------------KAGAWA
-------------------MAEDA


GK - Eiji KAWASHIMA
CB - Maya YOSHIDA
CB - Yasuyuki KONNO
RSB - Atsuto UCHIDA
LSB - Yuto NAGATOMO
CMF - Makoto HASEBE (C)
CMF - Yasuhito ENDO
AMF - Keisuke HONDA
RAMF - Shinji OKAZAKI
LAMF - Shinji KAGAWA
CF - Ryoichi MAEDA

Set Pieces:

Short Free Kick: Honda/Endo
Long Free Kick: Honda/Endo
Left Corner: Endo
Right Corner: Honda/Endo
Penalty Kick: Honda
Players to come up on set pieces: Yoshida, Konno

Older Competitions Rosters:

World Cup 2010
Asian Cup 2011

Recent Call-ups:

Goalkeepers:
Shuichi GONDA - FC Tokyo
Kaito YAMAMOTO - Shimizu S-Pulse
Takuto HAYASHI - Vegalta Sendai

Defenders:
Daigo NISHI - Kashima Antlers
Daiki IWAMASA - Kashima Antlers
Naoya KONDO - Kashiwa Reysol
Michihiro YASUDA - Vitesse Arnhem
Yuhei TOKUNAGA - FC Tokyo
Ryota MORIWAKI - Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Midfielders:
Ryota ISOMURA- Nagoya Grampus
Gaku SHIBASAKI - Kashima Antlers
Hideto TAKAHASHI - FC Tokyo
Yuki ABE - Urawa Reds
Chikashi MASUDA - Kashima Antlers
Hiroyuki TANIGUCHI - Yokohama F. Marinos
Naohiro ISHIKAWA - FC Tokyo
Yosuke KASHIWAGI - Urawa Red Diamonds
Takashi INUI - VfL Bochum
Jungo FUJIMOTO - Nagoya Grampus

Strikers:
Yuya KUBO - Kyoto Sanga
Genki HARAGUCHI - Urawa Red Diamonds
Yoshito ŌKUBO - Vissel Kobe
Junya TANAKA - Kashiwa Reysol
Takayuki MORIMOTO - Novara

Credits to Helios & Ace

[Ace]

A little doubt remains about Morimoto (A must to have but he doesn't play with his club)

He's a good player, but the problem is in january Catania was fighting against relegation and was forced to buy an important striker like Maxi Lopez to hope to save. After this Maxi Lopez started scoring 7 goals in 12 matches (a very good ratio), mostly in key matches. That's why "Maremoto" ("seaquake" in english) doesn't played so much in last months (BTW he played 25 matches this season mostly coming from bench in last times, IMO not a bad record for a 21 years old).

[MotherHen]

Japan confirm final 23

Japan have named their 23-man squad for the World Cup finals and star names Shunsuke Nakamura and Junichi Inamoto have been included.
Both Nakamura and Inamoto returned to play in Japan from Europe earlier this season, and that tactic worked as they both did enough to book a place on the flight to South Africa.
Coach Takeshi Okada has named four European-based players in his squad.
Keisuke Honda of CKSA Moscow, Grenoble's Daisuke Matsui and Makoto Hasebe of Wolfsburg and Catania star Takayuki Morimoto have all made it.
One shock inclusion was veteran goalkeeper Yoshi Kawaguchi, who is expected to be number three keeper for the finals.
Japan will now prepare for their first pre-tournament friendly with South Korea on May 24 before heading to Europe for matches with England and Ivory Coast.
Their opening group game is against Cameroon on June 19th in Durban.

Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F-Marinos), Tulio (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F-Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata)

[Ace]

21/23 of first post was right, good to know

I updated the first post.

[Helios]

No surprises except the selection of Kawaguchi. He would participate in his fourth World Cup, nice gesture from Okada.

[Ace]

Japanese National Team

Nickname: サッカー)日本代表 (Japanese Representatives) , Blue Samurai

Team Kits:

• Blue, White, Blue
  
• White, Blue, White
  

Official Website: jfa.or.jp

Manager: Alberto ZACCHERONI

Team Roster:



Goalkeepers:
1. Eiji KAWASHIMA - SK Lierse
21. Shusaku NISHIKAWA - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
23. Shuichi GONDA - FC Tokyo

Defenders:
2. Masahiko INOHA - Kashima Antlers
3. Daiki IWAMASA - Kashima Antlers
4. Yasuyuki KONNO - FC Tokyo
5. Yuto NAGATOMO - AC Cesena
6. Atsuto UCHIDA - Schalke 04
12. Ryota MORIWAKI - Sanfrecce Hiroshima
20. Mitsuru NAGATA - Urawa Red Diamonds
22. Maya YOSHIDA - VVV-Venlo

Midfielders:
7. Yasuhito ENDO - Gamba Osaka
8. Daisuke MATSUI - Tom Tomsk
10. Shinji KAGAWA - Borussia Dortmund
13. Hajime HOSOGAI - FC Augsburg
14. Jungo FUJIMOTO - Nagoya Grampus
15. Takuya HONDA - Shimizu S-Pulse
16. Yosuke KASHIWAGI - Urawa Red Diamonds
17. Makoto HASEBE © - VfL Wolfsburg
18. Keisuke HONDA - CSKA Moscow

Strikers:
9. Shinji OKAZAKI - Shimizu S-Pulse
11. Ryoichi MAEDA - Júbilo Iwata
19. Tadanari LEE - Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Formation:

----------------KAWASHIMA

UCHIDA---YOSHIDA---KONNO---NAGATOMO

------------HASEBE------ENDO

-------------------HONDA
---MATSUI-----------------------KAGAWA
-------------------MAEDA


GK - Eiji KAWASHIMA
CB - Maya YOSHIDA
CB - Yasuyuki KONNO
RSB - Atsuto UCHIDA
LSB - Yuto NAGATOMO
CMF - Makoto HASEBE ©
CMF - Yasuhito ENDO
AMF - Keisuke HONDA
RAMF - Daisuke MATSUI
LAMF - Shinji KAGAWA
CF - Ryoichi MAEDA

Set Pieces:

Short Free Kick: Honda/Endo
Long Free Kick: Honda/Endo
Left Corner: Endo
Right Corner: Endo
Penalty Kick: Endo
Players to come up on set pieces: ???

[MotherHen]

Cheers for editing the first post. And all players have stats!

Time to edit my Japan squad on my day off then!

[Helios]

They all seem very happy to take part at the World Cup :

http://southafrica2010.nikkansports.com ... photo.html

Not too sure why Okazaki is wielding a Katana !

[HENRY14EVER]

One of my dreams is to own a katana
The most powerful sword on earth, I like how its made with extreme perfection in each single step to complete the process

[CLU82]

Not too sure why Okazaki is wielding a Katana !

The text behind him says something along the lines of "diving header of a lifetime", though I know that doesn't help explain the katana...

It's indeed nice to see Kawaguchi and Narazaki in the squad, but going by Narazaki's performance against South Korea and Kawashima's against England, it'd be a bit silly to start with anyone other than Kawashima.

[Helios]

One of my dreams is to own a katana
The most powerful sword on earth, I like how its made with extreme perfection in each single step to complete the process

Oh yes, equally great as decorating objects, collectibles or...death instruments.

though I know that doesn't help explain the katana...

Since The NT is referred as the "Blue Samurai" the Katana makes sense after all.

Look at this picture : The national team is posing under the protective eye of the Samurai Sakamoto Ryōma (wearing the NT colors for the occasion) who wanted to modernize Japan and break from feudalism :



As for the "diving header" writing, it could refer to the amazing diving headers he scored. (Check the video in his thread).

but going by Narazaki's performance against South Korea and Kawashima's against England, it'd be a bit silly to start with anyone other than Kawashima.

Well, Okada specified few days ago that Kawashima is number one from now on. I am really divided about this...

Kawashima had an excellent season, he is a dynamic player and very brave goalkeeper, his concentration is optimal but still, he can make miraculous saves but also might let easy ones enter, Narazaki isn't as good as he used to be (especially when it comes to pure reflexes) but he remains a more consistent GK. His experience (would be his 4 th world cup) could be valuable for the team.

Japan scored 3 own goals in 2 games, never happened with Narazaki, as a GK you must also be very wary of your own defense and direct them as much as possible : (Drop this away, leave this to me, watch it !...) I had a felling that Nakazawa and Tulio had more confidence and affinities with Narazaki, Kawashima must improve the communication with his defense and raise it at least to the level of his own club.

Check that video (1:00 to be precise) and how Narazaki prevented a very difficult unexpected ball deviated by his own defender from entering the goal. :



Japan is blessed to have those guys, I would feel safe about our goal regardless of who's the starter.

The three of them excel at stopping penalties (to various degrees) but Kawaguchi is only there because the coach thought the team needs more leadership.

[Helios]

Here the formation against Cameroon, Honda alone in front, weird to say the least.

4 - 5 - 1 : Japanese are the whites in the picture (refer to the number of players to adjust the starting sqaud/formation ).



Hasebe is also the new captain. (wtf ??!)

[Napster]

That Endo is very good player. Japan has a very good team although they don't have a "good" striker. Honda is very talented player.

P.S. Maybe Uchida should play instead of the other RB? I really wanna see this guy.

[Helios]

Tomorrow's game (today's to be precise) is taking place at sea level, I am expecting a better performance from both teams.

P.S. Maybe Uchida should play instead of the other RB?

I think it's more a fitness issue than a tactical choice. Komano is an excellent crosser of the ball and he has some powerful strikes but that's all. Konno is more useful in midfield than in defense.
As far I remember, Uchida negated Robben during their friendly, I would like to see him playing too.
Actually, Japan completely dominated that game for nearly 60 minutes displaying their notorious lovely 1-touch passing, the team practiced a very fluid and fast football thanks to its world class midfielders but they dramatically fallen apart in the last 30 minutes conceding 3 goals. Fitness (and mentality) let them down. 3 - 0 . Large but undeserved (By De Boer's own words) victory for Netherlands.

Not sure how they're going to approach tomorrow's game. They didn't really played like "themselves" Vs Cameroon, the victory was more like a result of the solidity of their defensive line and generosity in the effort than anything else. Well, an ugly 3 pts are still 3 pts.

That Endo is very good player.

Was very good with the NT lately despite the dreadful season of his club, he holds somewhat an ungrateful defensive role that prevents him from displaying the "full" potential of his creativity, but he contributes a lot to the quality and stability of the midfield. Yuki Abe has been fantastic too in his role as a sort of "highly positioned" sweeper playing slightly in front of the defensive line, perfect link between defense and midfield, highly accurate passing and a lot of recovered balls.

Japan has a very good team although they don't have a "good" striker.

As usual, the attack is the biggest problem of the team, if they naturalized a guy like Marquinhos it would have solved their problems in this area and the team would be very hard to stop.
Okazaki was surprisingly dropped from the starting eleven beacuse he wasn't too convincing in friendlies but he remains a very interesting player if given good balls. Morimoto is a more than decent striker, he should really have his chance as I believe he has a lot to offer.
Yano is definitely not "World Cup material". (wtf is he doing there at first place ? ). Tamada is a good a mix of a creative attacking midfielder/striker but he passed his prime and he isn't too good lately, at least goal-scoring wise. His experience might be useful but only as a joker to change the course of particularly tight games.

But Okada really wants to steal "the show" from Domenech, he left Sato (very smart and highly efficient goal poacher despite his small size) and Maeda at home (only 8 units away from scoring his 100 th goal in J-League but no International experience that worths to be mentioned yet, how it could be even possible ? Scoring nearly 100 goals in your domestic goals without being picked to play for the NT !) while they could have been of a huge help to the team, it would have at least spared us the disgrace of seeing a midfielder playing alone as a forward.

Okubo (holding more the role of an SMF/WG) is clearly one of the most limited players in this squad (technically wise, passing skills...etc) but I truly admire his die-hard attitude, continuous harassment of adversaries and non-stop movement tiring the opposition. I must say he earned his place thanks to his efforts but yet again we had FAR better options, Okada is only exploiting something like 65 % of the talent available in J-League and that's really frustrating despite the positive start.

Well, I wouldn't care that much if the team takes a beating against the Dutch as long they make their way to the next stage. Avoiding injuries/suspensions is also an important matter in this game.

[CLU82]

The national team is posing under the protective eye of the Samurai Sakamoto Ryōma (wearing the NT colors for the occasion) who wanted to modernize Japan and break from feudalism

Ah, I see. Though I'm sure a lot of Japanese people would wince at the sight of a revered historical figure in Adidas branding...

But Okada really wants to steal "the show" from Domenech, he left Sato (very smart and highly efficient goal poacher despite his small size) and Maeda at home (only 8 units away from scoring his 100 th goal in J-League but no International experience that worths to be mentioned yet, how it could be even possible ?

But isn't this the same man who mysteriously omitted the then-firing-on-all-cylinders Kazuyoshi Miura from the 1998 World Cup squad?

I was lucky enough to get to go and see the recent friendly with South Korea (despite the result) and pre-kick off, when the players were being announced one-by-one, the crowd's reaction went something like:

"Honda Keisuke!" "Yaaaayy!"

"Okazaki Shinji!" "Yaaaaayy!"

"And the manager, Okada Takeshi!" "BOOOOOOOOO!!"

Around that time, his approval rating was something like 8%



Incidentally Helios, are you yourself Japanese?

[ominho]

Okada's formation against Cameroon and Netherlands.
GK; Kawashima
RB; Komano
RCB; Nakazawa
LCB; Tulio
LB; Nagatomo
DM; Abe
RCM; Hasebe(C)
LCM; Endo
RAM; Matsui
LSS; Okubo
CF; Honda

[Napster]

Tulio should play CF.

[Ace]

Helios, what do you think about the WC formation (the one ominho posted)? Do you think we can update or is better to wait at least another match to see if coach will continue to play with this new formation?

[mario88]

We are missing the takers of the Free kicks, penalties, corners, and the players that go up in the free kicks and corners
thks!

[chanman]

Japan have a good defence, they can go top four if they continue to play like this.

[ominho]

If Japan want top4 finish, they must beat Paraguay and maybe Brasil or Portugal or Spain or Chile.