Had Japan played in virtually in any other group at the World Cup 2014, they will be probably regarded as huge underdogs to survive the initial stage. As they will play against Colombia, the Ivory Coast and Greece, the Asian nation has a rare opportunity to make it to the elimination round. Alberto Zaccheroni is one of the few coaches who could get them there and the Japanese Federation was wise to hire him.
Group stage and event prospects
The Italian coach did his part during the qualification campaign and despite using a somewhat surprising 4-2-3-1 formation he easily made the World Cup 2014. The truth is that Japan didn't encounter serious opponents in its part of the world and will be now heavily tested against some of the best teams. The first obstacle is to make it to the next stage and it looks like Colombia is the team to beat in Group C.
Without Falcao they are less dangerous, but even so have a couple of strikers that can easily penetrate Japan's defense. That's why bookmakers are reluctant to overprice them, yet we still get odds of 2 to 1 for Japan to make it to the next stage, at Bet365. They are slight underdogs to the Ivory Coast, a team that is more experienced and has a couple of remarkable offensive players that the Japanese need to contain.
If they finish second behind Colombia, Japan will have a hard time surviving the next round regardless of the team they will be pit against. That's why the odds for them to win the World Cup 2014 are 151 to 1 and not even the most optimistic fans expect them to make the semifinals. Alberto Zaccheroni needs to make the most of the lot he's got and for the time being he seems overly concerned about strengthening the defense. All friendly games so far suggest that he did a brilliant job, as Japan rarely concedes goals.
Key players for Japan at the World Cup
One of the reasons for why the Asian nation participated in five consecutive world cups is that they play well together and the transition from one generation to the other was silky smooth. Some of the players who competed for Japan in 2010 won't return to the pitch but Zaccheroni has new names on his list. Definitely the most useful player is Kagawa who is not only very versatile but also experienced enough to lead his team to victory in the group stage.
He plays for Manchester United and even though he spent most of the time in the shadow of Rooney and van Persie, he met expectations whenever he was given a chance. At the World Cup 2014 he will have plenty of such opportunities and will feature alongside Okazaki and Honda. Both of them are given odds of 151 to 1 to emerge as the top scorer in Brazil, while Kagawa is priced by Bet365 at 251 to 1.
The bottom line
Zaccheroni won't have an easy mission at the World Cup 2014, but expectations are not particularly high for Japan this year. Seeing the team through the group stage will be more than enough to consolidate his position and this is the objective that the Italian will be aiming. As far as punters are concerned, it might be worth taking a leap of faith with Japan at even odds, but there is no point in counting on the Asian nation to achieve something more.
