Indeed, Kengo is having a MVP-like season despite his age. (although the Nakamura I really want to see in the NT is the one from Kashiwa)
I don't know if this has been talked about around here but I noticed today that Japan's World Cup Qualifier against UAE will be available here in the USA on ESPN3/ Watch ESPN apps. *Edit, also the following match against Thailand.
The best players should play, not matter the age. If you are good enough you are old/young enough. And Kengo is better than a lot of the MFs in this squad. Not sure why it is a question of him vs Yamaguchi though? The 2 players doesn't exactly hold down the same role. Not that Yamaguchi have impressed me much the last 2-3 seasons though. Will head to Saitama for this match, should be a good game. UAE have what is maybe Asia's best player in Omar Abdulrahman, and I'm actually looking more forward to seeing him than the Japanese stars! And this qualification might turn out to be the more difficult one in recent times. Australia and Japan are the 2 favorites, but both Saudia Arabia or UAE can beat Japan/Australia on a good day, and the away-games in particular will be very tough. Iraq and Thailand are a class below, but they are no pushovers like in earlier qualifications.
Normaly you are right @ nipponbasse83 when you are good, it doesn`t matter who you are or how old you are but in Kengos fact it does matter. He is not a good player, he never was and never will. Maybe this season is great for him but with 35, he has nothing to do in a national team. When you are a Messi or Ronaldo...okay we can talk about but not a Kengo Nakamura. The only possible scenario is, if the WC2018 would be in a few weeks and we need inform players, then maybe you can call a K.Nakamura but not 2 years ago cause he steal a young prospective player the expierence which can be a important factor at the WC in Russia and that`s all the magic.
Without any kind of WC-aimed project? I remember how Endo was in 2014 :/ and it's not like he wasn't playing well in Jleague. National teams aren't just about playing the best players... If Kengo was "good enough" while playing in Bundesliga, it'd be probably different, because it means that every week he plays against top level players and has do to everything at a certain pace. Which is why Hasebe could even make it to the next Asian Cup. Kengo is definitely better than Oshima but he can't be more useful than him in 2 years... Have fun at the match!! Disagree with this personally, Iraq seems far worse than the previous years\round where it still had very, very tight losses. They have done nothing relevant since the Asian Cup, even drawing with Vietnam and losing to Syria... shouldn't be a problem. Thailand has got better which is why they're here, but still a strong candidate to be dead last in the group. They're better, but they'll be a walkover compared to any teams we had in the rounds last time. Saudi Arabia... I don't know, they are a non-factor since a decade and I don't think they made past the rounds at the last asian cup. They couldn't even beat Palestine in the previous qualifiers. Can't see Japan dropping any point against them. UAE could be a bit better than 2014 Jordan (and that team was incredible in the home games) if they manage to be better than them in the away games, yeah. However, I expect them to drop a lot of points against the lower teams, especially the Saudis maybe, which is pretty reassuring. Can't see any concrete danger here, I'd pick the Aussie+UAE+Saudi combo instead of Uzbekistan, Iran and SK anytime honestly.
If I remember well the last game against UAE in the last Asian Cup they were outplayed. For them a success would be hetting a draw against Japan, a win would be a huge surprise.
Thanks! Maybe, but I feel Japan have been a bit on a standstill for the last couple of years, while a lot of other Asian countries have developed and improved dramatically. Thailand is one of them, UAE another. Playing away against Saudi Arabia in front of 60-70 000 crazy Saudi's will not be easy, and I'm not taking 3 points to Japan for given there. At home Japan should beat everyone, but say if they lose away against Australia and Saudi Arabia, and only manages a draw in Dubai they could be in trouble with regards to a top 2 finish. That's not a completely unlikely scenario. And worst case scenario: Then lose out to China in the playoffs. Iraq haven't done much since 2007 yes, and I expect Japan to take 6 points vs both them and Thailand, but never say never. Last time Japan met Jordan, Oman and Iraq ( which aren't that stronger if at all than Thailand I think) in addition to Australia, and it was a clear gap from the top 2 down to the rest imho. This time we got 6 teams, where atleast 3 can cause problems for Japan, so by doing the math it looks tougher in my book. The other groups also looks strong, which is a sign that Asian football as a whole is getting a lot better. While Japan, Korea, Australia have only made minor improvements if any.
Again, let's assume a disaster-like scenario like the ony you proposed, you are assuming that UAE in the meanwhile hasn't dropped points everywhere. I'm quite skeptical about that... they did the same against the Saudis just in the previous round. It's getting better, however remember that the last AFC-CONMEBOL playoff turned out pretty ugly... I mean, obviously I didn't expect Jordan to make it but it was still a reality check. This time the playoff is back against CONCACAF which is a bit more doable and I'm curious to see how it'll go.
AFC sucks majorly at inter-contintental playoffs, though. They have lost to all the other confeds. I think the only time AFC didn't lose was when Iran beat Australia on goal difference. Just for the heck of it, I want see a confed giant slip and have to go to the playoff. Yes, even Japan would be fun.
They don't necessarily suck, beating the South American representative is a tough task for anyone. Coming from the same person who said Hosogai was as good as Schweinsteiger or that Maruoka was going to be world class. Ok. By the way Vahid addressed the age concerns and his explanation makes perfect sense.
The fact is that AFC should get 5 places in the first places. They've 1/3 of the population of this planet. It doesn't make sense.
Costa Rica not really. Aside from their last World Cup breakthrough, we beat them solidly before the World Cup. Not that it's definite proof, but it's hard to say that "they are better" usually.
Closely following CR, it's hard to say. Actually, over the years I've come to notice that any time Japan is looking really good, CR is an a rut; and whenever CR is a solid side, Japan can't seem to beat anyone.
Generally these teams are close enough in ability that results would depend on current form and match context. I wouldn't put CR "above" Japan, but they punch above their weight regularly. Just ask Colombia from this summer, or the graveyard of Mexico coaches from last cycle.
I feel like Japan are better than the USA at their best days, but the USA's worst days are better than Japan's worst. I'd actually like to see Japan and the USA face each other at a World Cup to see how it turns out. Although it would be the race occasion when I cheer against Japan.