It's now or never for Zico's Japan
We are now over one year into the Zico reign and still waiting for Japan's first win at home under the Brazilian coach.
But Wednesday's game against Nigeria at Tokyo National Stadium offers Japan a wonderful chance, probably the best chance they will get, to end that bleak run.
Nigeria's team is known as the Super Eagles, but there has been nothing super about their preparations for this match.
None of their star names are here, such as Kanu of Arsenal, Yobo of Everton and the mercurial Okocha of Bolton Wanderers, and only 12 players had arrived in time for training at the National Stadium on Tuesday night.
According to organisers, three more players flew in to Tokyo on Tuesday evening, and they were expecting four more to arrive on the morning of the match.
This is hardly the best preparation!
Compare this to Japan.
Zico has brought back all his leading players except for the unlucky Shinji Ono, so Japan will have plenty of experienced World Cup players to try and win their first home game in seven attempts.
Japan have drawn with Jamaica, Uruguay and Paraguay at home under Zico, and lost to Argentina (twice) and South Korea.
Earlier this week I spoke to Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, whose error allowed Colombia to beat Japan 1-0 in that decisive group game in Saint-Etienne in the Confederations Cup in June.
"Tsune" said the supporters expected the team to win at home, and he wanted a victory "for my family and for Zico."
The mood in the camp, according to Tsune, was geared for victory, he said.
"Even after the match against Colombia the atmosphere was good," he said.
"Maybe we felt we played a good game, and could have had a good result. We got good experience in France, but there were some bad moments when we made some mistakes, including my mistake," he said.
Despite their poor preparations, Nigeria can never be written off as they have a strong recent history on the international stage.
They are always capable of the unexpected, and their players are brought up in a true football culture. This is why so many of them move abroad, because they have the basic skills, tactical awareness and strong physique to make them a success in Europe.
But Japan should win this one, and I think they will.
ends
The comments to this entry are closed.
Comments