All Whites to face Japan ahead of playoff

Andrew Durante feels Japan will offer ideal preparation for New Zealand heading into their intercontinental playoff.

New Zealand Football confirmed on Wednesday night the All Whites will play world No 44 Japan at Toyota Stadium in Nagoya on October 6.

The friendly was first mooted a couple of weeks ago, but both teams needed to successfully make it through their World Cup Qualifiers before it could be confirmed.

Japan secured their spot at Russia 2018 by beating Australia 2-0 on Friday, while New Zealand completed an 8-3 aggregate win against the Solomon Islands on Tuesday to setup the playoff showdown in November with the yet-tobe-confirmed fifth-placed team from South American qualifying.

The All Whites last played Japan in March 2014, five months

before Anthony Hudson took over as coach. That day a youthful team, featuring debutants Ryan Thomas and Bill Tuiloma, lost 4-2 in Tokyo.

After finding themselves down 4-0 after 17 minutes, two Chris Wood goals added respectability to the scoreline.

Durante also played that game and said this year’s match would give them an opportunity to show how far they had come under Hudson.

‘‘We actually played some really good football that night, even though we conceded four early goals, that was just because we had a lot of new faces.

‘‘We’re much further advanced now than where we were back then, so it’s a great test for us, a big nation and perfect preparation for November.’’

Japan have played at every World Cup since their first appearance in 1998. They have also won the Asian Cup four times, most recently in 2011.

Durante said Japan’s style of play would be similar to what they were expecting from their South American opposition in November.

‘‘I think that’s probably one of the reasons we took this game, they’re very similar in many ways, so it will be good for us.

‘‘They’re a very organised team, they’re very good on the ball. The Japanese are all very technically gifted, like the South Americans. They play a high-tempo game, like the South Americans.

‘‘The bonus is we don’t have to travel as far to go and play them.’’

Japan have an experienced squad, with Leicester City striker Shinji Okazaki, Southampton defender Maya Yoshida and former AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda headlining their squad.

They have a massive following at home, with 60,000 fans packing the Saitama Stadium for Friday’s win. Toyota Stadium has a capacity of 45,000 and would likely sell out, given the national team has never played at the stadium, which lies 300 kilometres west of the capital, Tokyo.

Durante said playing in front of a big, parochial crowd would be another good experience.

‘‘When we played there last time it was a full house. I saw a bit of the Socceroos game against Japan the other night and it looked again like a full house. It’s a really passionate country, a really good footballing nation.

‘‘They’ve been at the World Cup now many times and are a real powerhouse in Asia, so it will be a very big test and good yardstick to see where we’re at going into November. It will be a good opportunity for the gaffer to maybe tinker things or improve on things he’s seen over the last few camps that we need to improve on.’’