Zaccheroni names Japan squad for World Cup

Alberto Zaccheroni will be hoping that a lack of first team outings up until the final weeks of the season will have kept his star man Shinji Kagawa fresh as Japan go head to head with fancied Colombia, always tough Greece and star studded Ivory Coast in Group C.

The squad boasts just four conventional midfielders and eight forwards, with those including the aforementioned Kagawa and Keisuke Honda of AC Milan who will be unlocking the opposition defences in Brazil.

The problem, which is often the case with Japan is their defence. In last year’s Confederations Cup Zaccheroni chose to deploy a back three with Yuri Nagatomo of Internazionale and Asuto Uchida of Shalke 04 as his wing backs. If he chooses to line out this way again, Maya Yoshida of Southampton and Masato Morishige of FC Tokyo will line up alongside one other to try and contain some talented strike forces in Group C.

Two players not in the squad that have caused some ripples in the media are Mike Havenaar of Vitesse in Holland. The 17 times capped striker, son of Dido, a Japanese football legend is most known for being a 6ft 5in striker who causes opposition defences physical trouble but does not pose a major goal threat.

The other man who missed out on inclusion is Midfielder Kengo Nakamura of Kawasaki Frontale. The 33 year-old has amassed 68 caps for the Blue Samurai since making his debut in 2006. The crafty midfielder with a bachelor’s degree in Arts was in the 2010 World Cup squad but does not make the cut this time around.

For a full view of the Japan squad visit our Japanese team page.

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo)

Defenders: Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover), Gotoku Sakai (Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Makoto Hasebe (Nuremberg), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka)

Forwards: Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Hiroshi Kiyotake (Nuremberg), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F Marinos), Yuya Osako (1860 Munich)

Extratime.ie will be covering the FIFA World Cup 2014 from the first kick of a ball to the last with reports and news. We will also have regular features from our reporter in Brazil, Macdara Ferris, who is attending the Russia v South Korea game amongst others.