23 Mar 2009(Mon)

March 20, 2009: Takeshi Okada's "Plan A" has become very clear during World Cup qualifying.

At JFA House on Thursday, the national team coach also revealed Plan B and possibly Plan C -- just in case Plan A cannot break down Bahrain on March 28.

Plan B will be Kisho Yano; a bit of height and physical presence from the bench if the smaller strikers are not clicking. Yano was preferred to JEF's Seiichiro Maki after his bright start to the season for Albirex.

Plan C could well be Mu Kanazaki, if Okada decides to put the Oita fireball on the bench.

Again, Kanazaki would offer something different with his extravagant skills and unpredictability, and is the kind of player who can pick up the pace of a game immediately after joining the action.

If the Bahrainis have dug in and are holding out for a point to keep Japan within their sights in the group, a flash of Kanazaki magic could be just the thing to open them up. Another factor is that the Bahrainis don't know too much about Kanazaki, so his bold, raw talent could take them by surprise.

This is a massive game for Japan, and victory would move them to 11 points from five games and on the brink of qualification. Okada has been saying that 12 points would be enough to clinch one of the two automatic qualifying places, whereas Australia coach Pim Verbeek is taking no chances and has set a target of 15.

In the four qualifying games of the final round, Japan have bucked the trend by winning both their away games and drawing both at home; and I cannot imagine them not winning three home games in a row.

With four players coming back from Europe, and the training camp starting from Tuesday -- four full days before the match at Saitama Stadium on Saturday night -- Japan have a wonderful opportunity to take a big step towards South Africa 2010.

Two of their final three games are away, against Uzbekistan and Australia, so three points on March 28 would remove a lot of the pressure ahead of the run-in. The time is right for a commanding home display, and Okada looked very satisfied with the progress of his team at the press conference on Thursday.

ends