Road to Rio: Japan has its work cut out in Brazil

Japan was the first nation to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. (Shuji Kajiyama/AP)

Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its “32 teams in 32 days” series, SPORTSNET.CA will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up to the draw on Dec. 6.



Japan was the first nation to qualify for next year’s World Cup – the Samurai Blue barely broke a sweat in the final round of qualifying to book their flight to Brazil. Italian manager Alberto Zaccheroni deserves a lot of the credit, building the team up since he took over the reins in 2010. An Asian Cup title was won in 2011, and World Cup qualification was secured for the fifth time in the country’s history. But while they may be top dogs in Asia, Japan has historically struggled against opponents from outside the continent, as evidenced by its poor showing at this summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.


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How they got here: Japan looked far from convincing in the semifinal round of the Asian qualifiers, losing to Uzbekistan and North Korea, and finished second behind the Uzbekistanis. But they did enough to advance to the final round. Once there, the Japanese became far more ruthless, losing only once in eight matches and winning the group comfortably ahead of Australia.

Key result: Japan cruised to victory in the first two games of the final round of the Asian qualifiers before drawing Australia. Then on Sept. 11, the Japanese managed to get back on track with a 1-0 win over Iraq, while on the same day Australia was upset by Jordan. Those results put Japan in firm control of the group, as the Japanese didn’t surrender the lead and went on to clinch a World Cup berth with two games to spare.

Star player: He may be struggling for regular playing time this season under David Moyes, but Shinji Kagawa remains a key figure for Japan as the side’s main midfield creator and architect. The Manchester United star is a scoring midfielder who is graced with keen on-field vision, deft technical skill and sublime distribution. One of Japan’s few game breakers.

Player on the bubble: Takashi Inui is a talented playmaker who can also be deployed as an attacking midfielder or out on the wing. The problem is Japan has better and more experience attacking options in Shinji Kagawa and Kensuke Honda. He’ll need to have a strong Bundesliga campaign at Eintracht Frankfurt to ensure he’s on the plan to Brazil.

Team strengths: If the World Cup was a track meet, Japan would be a top contender. There are few national teams quicker than Japan, who move the ball around with such quickness and pace that they force opponents to chase and win possession back. Their just as quick going forward, especially on the counter where they can catch opponents off-guard and score against the run of play. Fitness won’t be an issue for the Japanese at the World Cup.

What they have to work on: Japan was barely bothered in the qualifying campaign, as it brushed aside a collection of Asia’s minnows and teams of mediocre calibre. This past summer’s Confederations Cup was a different story, as Italy, Brazil and Mexico all scored with ease against the Japanese. Their lack of defensive depth and quality means Japan will have to be better organized and its back line is going to have to better than the sum of its parts.

World Cup history

  • 1930 to 1938 – Did not enter
  • 1950 – Banned
  • 1954 to 1994 – Did not qualify
  • 1998 – First round
  • 2002 – Second round
  • 2006 – First round
  • 2010 – Second round


    Team profiles: Algeria | Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Cameroon | Chile | Costa Rica | Colombia | Croatia | Ecuador | England| Germany | Ghana | Greece | Honduras | Iran | Italy | Ivory Coast | Japan | Mexico | The Netherlands | Nigeria | Portugal | Russia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | United States | Uruguay


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