Close their backdoor and Japan can shine

JAPAN

Fifa ranking: 60 PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS:

Japan have appeared at the World Cup five times, making their debut at the 1998 tournament in France. Since then, they have been a permanent fixture at the tournament. They have reached the round of 16 on two occasions, most recently in SA in 2010. They also reached the second round when they co-hosted the 2002 tournament with South Korea, losing 1-0 to Turkey.

COACH:

Akira Nishino: Nishino took over as Japan head coach on April 9 after the sacking of Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, who had steered Japan to the finals in Russia. The 63-year-old made 12 appearances for the Blue Samurai as a player, yet is most famous in his home country for coaching the Japan side who defeated Brazil at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He has promised to play an attacking brand of football and to repair the fractured relationship between coaches and the players.

KEY PLAYER:

Shinji Kagawa: The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has struggled to emulate the form that made him Japan’s star man going into Brazil 2014, but his club performances improved after coach Peter Stoeger took over the German side, and the 29-year-old has since looked back to his best. A recent injury has hampered his World Cup preparations, but with 29 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, Kagawa remains a key figure for Japanese hopes in Russia.

FORM GUIDE:

Since qualifying, Japan have struggled, losing to Ukraine, Belgium and Brazil and drawing with Mali and Haiti in friendly matches. In these games they conceded 10 goals and scored six.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED:

Japan finished top of a tough Group B in Asian qualifying, ahead of fellow qualifiers Saudi Arabia and Australia. They conceded only seven goals in 10 qualification matches.

PROSPECTS:

Japan are drawn in Group H, alongside Poland. However, Senegal and Colombia, who make up the group, both possess the quality to hurt Japan. —