If you care, there ya have it: Squad: Goalkeepers---Yoichi Doi (FC Tokyo), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Hitoshi Sogahata (Kashima Antlers) Defenders---Makoto Tanaka (Jubilo Iwata), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Gamba Osaka), Alessandro Santos (Urawa Reds), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa Reds), Shinji Murai (Jubilo Iwata), Akira Kaji (FC Tokyo), Yuichi Komano (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Teruyuki Moniwa (FC Tokyo) Midfielders---Takashi Fukunishi (Jubilo Iwata), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Anlters), Masashi Motoyama (Kashima Antlers), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Yuki Abe (JEF United Chiba), Makoto Hasebe (Urawa Reds) Forwards---Takayuki Suzuki (Kashima Anlters), Tatsuhiko Kubo (Yokohama F. Marinos), Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) http://www.jfa.or.jp/e/news/2005/051226_1.html Kubo is still a question mark, and will Suzuki's dives work against the US backline? No Koji Nakata and Akira Kaji is in the mix, so they won't suck. Note to Donovan: Run at Alex Santos. Dude is pants.
This looks like their best domestic side. They lack their Euros (Nakata, Inamoto and Nakamura) Mind you, my only qualification here is that I sometimes watch the J League highlight show and have a Japanese wife.
This is the "Best" domestic side. Some Japanese fans will say that this is a B-Team because he isn't taking some in-form players in the J-League (Read Rising Sun news for the occasional rant) but it's also clear that Zico is playing some players who need to see if they can retain their international form. For one, Kubo and Alex Santos come to mind. Kubo is back from injury, and Santos has experienced an Eddie Pope-like decline in play for both Club and Country, he's nowhere near the player back in 2002. Meanwhile, here is a chance for bubble players like Akira Kaji to really cement their place on the side. Oddly, the Japanese team seems to mirror the predicament of the US team.
Probably only a preliminary training camp roster. Injuries may change the Japanese squad between now and February.
That makes you more qualified than most of us! Good to know we'll not be taking on their reserve side. Our lads need to have realistic warm-up matches before heading to Germany.
Yeah this is why im wondering about the Norway match. Their players are good dont get me wrong , but we want to be testing our team right now to see if some of them can complete against strong opposition.
alex has been the biggest chronical desease for japan. everytime he possesses the ball our offense shrivels and disasters swear in but he is still better than donovan and any other u.s. players. early and easy prediction: japan 3-1 usa
Exactly how much knowledge do you have the US team to make such a claim Alex isn't exactly being followed by some euro clubs unlike some of the USMNT players currently in camp. and yet you make such claims as this Japan B team will defeat a US B team. is this japan team the one that lost to a Peru D team in japan? or are they going to really try this time.
It's gonna be like an MLS/J-League all star game. Neither team is gonna have their euros and the guys will all be coming back from post season layoffs. Teams are really kind of similar.......nice midfields, questions in the back 4 and inability to put away easy chances on goal. Kawaguchi, Doi, and Sogahata are all decent keepers (unlike the overrated Narazaki of Grampus) Abe and Ogasawara are great players and Hasebe is an x factor.......had a nice run in the Emperors cup, only 21.
I was thinking the same thing -- you really are not going to be able to take much from this match as it is a bunch of players who will be just rounding back into shape for their respective seasons and both squads will be missing several important players. A 3-0 score either way really won't mean that either squad is superior to the other (as it typically would) just better on that day. That said, I would still expect a tight (and probably ugly) match.
everyone's using ttheir domestic sides in the january/feb friendlies so what's the big deal... arena will go euro against poland and germany....
it should be noted, this is japans first team defense, so arena will have a valueable learning tool that evening
Alex Santos is better than Donovan or any other US Players!? Are you freaking kidding me!?!? Sure, the Reds were runners up in the J-League but c'mon, this is insanity here. Alex is a solid player who reminds me a lot of Frankie Hejduk or Chris Albright. But neither of those players is class, and neither of them are assured of a spot on the WC Roster. A *solid* player isn't necessarily a world-class player. As a defender, Alex isn't even at the same level with even some of the US MLS defenders, like Jimmy Conrad. I think some Japanese fans will agree with me: Alex is the Japanese Eddie Pope. He once was a master of his position, now his increasingly lacklustre play is moving him to the edges of the national team...And maybe off of it completely soon.
Ogasawara is TOUGH....watch out for him in the midfield. The dude has speed and really nice technical ability.
You know, if our MLS-based USNT players made strides against this one hurdle, our national team would really be on the money. With out finishing easy chances, we'll always have our work cut out for us.
i think most of Japanese players have technical skill, sometime i wonder how those guys score beautiful goals, and yes they scored buch of beautiful goals, not just goals.
Imagine, a country that release the roster for a game. The only way the US would know is if someone went to the airport to see who got on the plane. This is one aspect of Arena I find VERY annoying. Threre is nothing at stake. Why can't the roster ever be released?
I gotta agree with this one too. It gets annoying after a while. I could perhaps understand a little more if this were a WC game, but it's just a friendly.