Socceroos vs Japan: A look at our opponents

It’s crunch time for the Socceroos as they face Japan in Saitama on Tuesday night. After a string of poor performances and most notably results, the Green and Gold are riding a fine line towards qualification for Brazil 2014. 

A loss tomorrow night could see Holger Osieck’s men in grave danger of missing out on a direct qualifying spot, while Japan only needs a point to confirm qualification. Let's take a look at the Blue Samurai’s form, the main threats to Mark Schwarzer’s goal, and the possible areas of weakness.

Japan in 2013…

Starting the year just as they left 2012, Japan displayed solid form with two friendly victories over Latvia (3:0) and Canada (2:1) in March. A few days later they had the chance to seal qualification against Jordan in Amman, but were surprisingly toppled 1:2. On the weekend, Alberto Zaccheroni tested a new 3-4-3 formation in a friendly against Bulgaria, but defensive frailties cost them in a 0:2 loss. The aftermath has certainly not been panic mode, but Japan will be hungry to respond and seal qualification as soon as possible in order to turn their attention to this month’s Confederations Cup.

The danger men…

Japan’s creative assets certainly take emphasis over their defensive stability. In Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow) and Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), they have proven game winners. Honda is under an injury cloud but you can bet on him to play some part on Tuesday evening after entering camp on a high from winning the Russian league and cup double. Stuttgart’s Shinji Okazaki should beat competition from Ryoichi Maeda and 194-cm Mike Havenaar for the striker’s role, which has been one of their most troublesome and inconsistent voids over the past few years.

Where can we hurt them? 

The Blue Samurai’s frailty in defending set pieces was on show against Bulgaria. The usually reliable Eiji Kawashima made a hash of saving a 30-metre Stanislav Manolev free-kick, while captain Makoto Hasebe put through his own net from another long-range set piece. Kawashima’s history suggests he’ll bounce right back to his usual solidity, but with either Josh Kennedy or Tim Cahill (or both) likely to spearhead Australia’s attack, we might be treated to a barrage of long-balls forward. This could prove predictable and ineffective, while concentrating on exploiting our aerial ability from set pieces may be key. In the middle of the park, Zaccheroni continues to rely on veteran Yasuhito Endo, whose lack of pace could see him physically outplayed by Mile Jedinak (if fit), Mark Milligan or James Holland.

Kick-off is at 8:30pm Tuesday / SBS broadcast starts at 9pm.