Japan adoptee Matt Gray worries about Takeshi Okada's negative tactics ahead of their opener against Cameroon.
FanZoner concerned by manager's 'stagnant' tactics
So, we're almost there, the World Cup is upon us and come Monday 14th June the question on everyone's lips will be, can Japan get out of their group?
Ok, so possibly this won't be the question on people's lips, everyone will still be digesting England's tepid start to the tournament after a bore draw against the United States. Still, for the next 10 days or so I shall be concerned with how Japan gets on, hoping my involvement through these blogs gets prolonged beyond the group stages.
Though I won't count on it!
In the 10 matches Japan have played this calendar year, they have won just three and they were against the footballing backwaters of Yemen, Hong Kong and Bahrain. Against more substantial opposition - South Korea, Serbia, England and most recently Ivory Coast - they have lost all, with only two goals scored and twelve conceded.
Their defence is leakier than a bag of leeks sat in a bucket of leek soup, leaking!
Cameroon will hardly be quaking in their boots, though if the Japanese team were as muscular as their manager's ambition is lofty, Monday's game could look like more of a contest.
Masterplan
Takeshi Okada insists his side have a masterplan to enable them to beat the big teams and reach the semi-finals. Against England the other week this grand plan was revealed as nothing more than a Stoke City style 'score first and kill off the game'. Tony Pulis eat your heart out.
I can see two major drawbacks with this plan.
Firstly, Japan are not the Greece side of Euro 2004; good on the ball the Japanese can be, but defensively, they remain as suspect as a John Terry alibi.
Secondly, and this is key, their defenders have developed a rather untimely habit of scoring own goals. Three of the four goals conceded in the last two games have been OGs, which when you score very few at the other end is less Kamikaze, more the equivalent of wooing some luscious lass all night, buying her drinks, paying for the taxi then getting home and deciding to discuss knitting patterns rather than doing the do!
When a team is somewhat lacking at the back, surely the best form of defence is attack? The sad thing is, Japan have enough attack minded talent to really cause not only Cameroon, but also Denmark some real problems.
Dynamic
Keisuke Honda, a powerful attacking midfielder, has been in dynamic form for CSKA Moscow, Yasuhito Endo is the current Asian player of the year, Makoto Hasebe has had a good season at Wolfsburg and Shunsuke Nakamura, once of Celtic, is in Gordon Strachan's eyes, "one of the most brilliant playmakers I have ever seen".
Athletic, creative, flexible; this should be a midfield to make neutrals purr and sumo wrestle the resistance out of opposition teams. Yet Takeshi Okada seems set to stifle this creativity for a more repellent and beatable tactic of stagnation.
Along with Switzerland and Greece in this tournament, Japan may well take the Otto Rehhagel award for services to insomnia sufferers.
Gambatte Japan, I really hope you don't need it!
My predictions:
Japan 0 - 1 Cameroon
Holland 3 - 0 Denmark
Holland 2 - 0 Japan
Cameroon 1 - 1 Denmark
Cameroon 1 - 4 Holland
Denmark 2 - 1 Japan
