The coach of Japanese National Team Alberto Zaccheroni to this year 2014 FIFA World Cup has released his full squad for the tournament. The Italian man’s team list is led by Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda. The team will be facing Côte d’Ivoire, Colombia and Greece in Group C at the tournament. The team is billed to have their first match on June 14 against Côte d’Ivoire.
The 61-year-old tactician has given a hint at the state of mind that his team will display at the tournament, he said: “We will respect our opponents but certainly won’t be frightened,If you go into a game with fear, you’re in trouble. We need to go in prepared and bring our own qualities. We have a lot of attacking players.”
The Japanese team is the current Asian champion and they look good to progress to the next round considering their current credentials. Two key players on the list are struggling with injury; captain Makoto Hasebe and right-back Atsuto Uchida, but the coach has expressed confidence they will be fit before the commencement of the tournament. “I’ve had the squad in my head a while but I wanted to have a look at as many players as possible” said Zaccheroni.
He expressed the challenge he faced trimming the team down to the final 23-man squad; “It was a struggle to get the list down to 23. I wanted to call up Sepp Blatter (FIFA president) and ask him to let me pick more. But this group of players knows how I want them to play tactically and understands the team ethic.”
The surprise of the team was striker Yoshito Okubo who has been recalled to the team, Zaccheroni justify the inclusion of the player by saying; “He’s got experience, knows the game and can bring us a little something different.”
The coach further express optimism in his team by saying; “It’s a great group, and we’re determined to show the strides Asian football has made. Yes, we will be judged on results but if we concentrate on playing our game, I believe the results will come.”
Japan boast in their rank attacking pair of Kagawa and Honda in Brazil. “Shinji is an impact player for Japan,” said Zaccheroni. Kagawa has a frustrating season at Manchester United after being dropped down the pecking order. “He always does the job asked. Honda, we know, has the character and power to grab the team by the scruff of the neck. We hope he can do the same again” the coach said of the two star players.
The coach sound modest without setting any target unlike previous World Cup, “We need to make sure our conditioning is perfect,” he said. “I don’t wish to make concrete predictions, and if we lose we’ll take it on the chin. But if we play to our potential we have a chance. We’re positive. Let’s see how far it takes us.”
Japan Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege/BEL), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo)
Defenders: Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan/ITA), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke/GER), Maya Yoshida (Southampton/ENG), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover 96/GER), Gotoku Sakai (Stuttgart/GER)
Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg/GER), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan/ITA), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United/ENG)
Forwards: Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz/GER), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nurnberg/GER), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F-Marinos), Yuya Osako (1860 Munich/GER)