SAITAMA, Japan, 18 February 2004 — Brazilian coach Zico has warned Japan against complacency as they prepare to kick-off their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign against Oman here today.
Asian champions Japan, who reached the last 16 at the 2002 finals on home soil, are expected to enjoy a waltz through the first round of qualifiers, where their Group 3 opponents are Oman, India and Singapore.
The Japanese are gunning for their third straight appearance at a World Cup and today’s game at Saitama will see them at full-strength, with their foreign legion of star players all selected.
Zico, a veteran of Brazil’s World Cup campaigns in 1978, 1982 and 1986, has seen his side finally start to come good after a difficult early spell in his tenure when he took over from Frenchman Philippe Troussier.
A 2-0 victory over Iraq last week was the latest in a series of solid results for the Japanese, and was in stark contrast to a 5-0 walloping suffered by Oman against South Korea at the weekend.
Oman’s heavy defeat suggests a Japanese victory will be a formality — but Zico has been quick to play down the significance of the result.
“It was a mere friendly match,” Zico said. “We should not think we can beat them easily. Those five goals include own goals and a penalty. They actually said Zico, who is keenly aware of how much is at stake.
Zico has chosen Bologna midfielder and former Asian footballer of the year Hidetoshi Nakata in his favorite attacking position, lining up in midfield with Reggina’s Shunsuke Nakamura, Fulham’s Junichi Inamoto and Yasuhito Endo. Germany’s Hamburg striker Naohiro Takahara and Sampdoria’s Atsushi Yanagisawa form the front line.
A total of 32 countries were divided into eight groups in the Asian first round and top finishers from each group will advance to the second round, vying for at most five places in the World Cup. Japan failed to win a game in their debut in France in 1998 but enjoyed steady progress to win the 2000 Asian Cup in Lebanon before reaching the second round of the World Cup for the first time two years ago.
Oman meanwhile, Japan’s biggest rivals in the first round, are led by the wily Milan Macala, a veteran of the Asian football scene who specializes in plotting upsets.
In keeping with his giant-killing record, Macala has been keen to cast his team in the role of underdogs ahead of today’s opener.
“In our group with India, Singapore, Oman, the Japanese national team is the favorite number one, because they’ve been playing fantastic for many, many years, also they have experience in the World Cup,” Macala said.
“We started to build a new team two years ago and I changed many, many players and most of them are under the Olympic age. This team has been successful.”
