How do you think Asia's representitive "Japan" will Fare in this tourney? They are drawn in group A with Brazil, Greece and Mexico. I think Japan has a very good chance of advancing to the next round along Brazil. BTW didn't bin hamal or whatever his name is along with sepp say that there will be 10 teams and Iran will be one of them after they won the asian games and afc/ofc cup? Im not saying that we should be as I believe only the winner of asian cup should be there but didn't they say such thing? Anyways only if Iran had'nt lost that penalty shoot out and finished 1st instead of 3rd then we could have had the pleasure to kick brazil's ass.. sigh Ahh well go Japan! Bring the cup to mother persia err asia
Japan can beat Mexico and Greece. So, I say Japan's chance of advancing is great. Let's hope Japan represents Asia well.
Mexico and Greece are tough teams to say the least. I don't think Japan is used to taking on these kinds of teams. Mexicans here at BigSoccer seem to think that they'll have no trouble beating both Japan and Greece. I concede their midfield is better than ours in terms of ball control and possession. Moreover, they wouldn't embarrass themselves as in 2001 when they lost to Australia 2-0, to Korea 2-1, and to France 4-0. They have more tradition as a football nation and more experience in big matches too. This tourney is for continental champs, so the Asian Champs should show what they can do to the rest of the world, although I reckon our chance of getting to the second round might be worse than the last tourney in which Japan beat NZ 3-0, fell to France 1-2, and then got eliminated by Colombia 0-1. I hope Japan will get a ticket to the World Cup by then. That enables us to send all of the eligible players to this competition and focus on it. Tsuboi's comeback should be a plus, but we definitely need Kubo as well.
Starting off with Mexico might be a little rougher than some think. For all their skillful possession in midfield, Mexico definitely has a physical edge to their game and we've all seen how well Japan deals with that. If Japan is able to keep close tabs on Borgetti and not make the mistake of leaving Mexico time at the top of the box, I think Japan can win this one. Greece hasn't exactly been setting their WC qualifying alight. I could see Japan getting points out of this match, too, though grabbing an early goal is probably essential to that cause. We'll have to see just how interested Brazil is in the CC. I don't think they'll send their U-23s like they did for the Gold Cup, but you might not be seeing Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká, etc. As someone said elsewhere, if Brazil has already qualified by the end of the group stage, they might not be that interested in chasing the match.
Very tough either way. I'd say Brazil to take top spot and Mexico, Greece and Japan to slug it out for 2nd, all 3 of them with a pretty much equal chance.
Or it could be due to their terminal case of knockoutstageaphobia. Mexico always seems to look very good in the group stages of international tournaments, but things go horribly, horribly wrong once they reach the knockout rounds. I should amend that -- international tournaments they don't host.
Did you mean overrated? They are top 10 FIFA ranked team most of the year. Many think they should be rated somewhere below 15. I think Mexico is overrated.
They're still a Top 15 team. They can be inconsistent, but do fairly well at tournaments. They will be tougher to handle than Greece.
Greece shouldnt be a problem, Brazil will make it for sure. Mexico and Japan have to fight for the second slot. Tough matchup.
Wow I'm excited for this Confed Cup, seems like Japan will really have to prove themselves. Euro Champ, World Cup Champ, both in their group!
hahahahaha the euro champ haven't even won a single game in their wcq yet!! this will be the last time to hear their name on world stage for the next 50 yrs so hopefully they'll be a runner-up after japan!!