Till the 1980s, Japan wasn't even in the football map of Asia. From the start of the 1990s, major steps were taken to lift the game. And the result, they played their first World Cup in 1998.
A first round exit was all they could manage in France. But four years later, they were the co-hosts with Korea. In front of the home fans, they played well enough to reach the round of 16.
Now, they have a legend in Zico as their coach. Japan didn't have to sweat to qualify either, securing 15 out of 18 points in the group stage,
In Hidetoshi Nakata, they have a player of immense class and experience. Shunsuke Nakamura and Inamoto are two other very good players.
But they are in the group of Brazil. Croatia appears to be a tough team and Australia are no push overs either.
Japan have to play out of their skin to reach the second round in Germany.
COMPLETE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Yoichi Doi, Seigo Narazaki
Defenders: Makoto Tanaka, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Alessandro Santos, Yuji Nakazawa, Keisuke Tsuboi, Akira Kaji, Yuichi Komano, Koji Nakata
Midfielders: Takashi Fukunishi, Mitsuo Ogasawara, Shinji Ono (Urawa Reds), Yasuhito Endo, Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Junichi Inamoto
Forwards: Seiichiro Maki, Keiji Tamada, Atsushi Yanagisawa, Masashi Oguro, Naohiro Takahara.
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