Japan's squad of 23 is due to be named on May 10. Seeing as no more games are taking place for JNT between now and then i thought it'd be interesting to see what people's squads and starting XI looks like. My 23: GK: Narazaki, Kawashima, Nishikawa DF: Nakazawa, Tulio, Iwamasa, Uchida, Nagatomo, Komano, Abe MF: S.Nakamura, K.Nakamura, Endo, Hasebe, Honda, Matsui, Inamoto, Konno FW: Okazaki, Morimoto, Tamada, Maeda, Sato Starting XI: Against Cameroon [LINEUP-4-4-2]Okazaki, Morimoto, K.Nakamura, Endo, Hasebe, Nakamura, Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tulio, Komano, Narazaki[/LINEUP-4-4-2] Against Holland, Kengo Nakamura goes to AM and Matsui to LM and Morimoto on the bench and Honda starts at RM instead of Nakamura. 4-2-3-1 Against Denmark, same lineup as cameroon but Honda start for Nakamura and if Japan only need a draw at this stage, then Abe in Komano's place 4-4-2.
GK: Narazaki, Kawashima, Sogahata DF: Nakazawa, Tulio, Iwamasa, Uchida, Nagatomo, Komano, Komiyama MF: S.Nakamura, K.Nakamura, Endo, Hasebe, Honda, Kagawa, ?, ? FW: Okazaki, Morimoto, ?, ?, ? I admit that actually, I don't have any clue about the last 5 names I wanna put on the list. I don't have anymore the certainties I had after Ghana or Togo-Japan ... One by one, the new additions to the team are disappointing. What I know is that we seriously need a powerful forward not afraid to shoot like a dinosaur on the ball. I'm tired of the cheap shots and little chances we're creating. We also need percution, penetration, speed. We can't bring 8 central midfielders. We would have a fckn control of the ball, yes, but we'd end goaless. Against Cameroon I would see : [LINEUP-4-5-1] Morimoto, Kagawa, Ishikawa, Endo, Hasebe, K.Nakamura, Nagatomo, Tulio, Nakazawa, Uchida, Narazaki[/LINEUP-4-5-1]
Regrettably I can't see Kagawa being chosen to the World Cup squad. He brings so much to the team, but Okada would rather choose Tamada instead of him...
My 23: GK: Narazaki, Kawashima, Nishikawa DF: Uchida, Tulio, Nakazawa, Komano, Nagatomo, Iwamasa, Makino MF: S.Nakamura, Hasebe, Endo, Kagawa, K. Nakamura, Ono, Inamoto, Abe, Ishikawa FW: Honda, Okazaki, Morimoto, Okubo Honda, Okazaki Kagawa, Endo, Hasebe, Shunsuke Komano, Nakazawa, Tulio, Uchida Narazaki Okada's 23: GK: Narazaki, Kawashima, Nishikawa DF: Uchida, Tulio, Nakazawa, Komano, Nagatomo, Iwamasa, Konno MF: S.Nakamura, Hasebe, Endo, Matsui, K. Nakamura, Inamoto, Abe, Ishikawa, Honda FW: Okazaki, Morimoto, Okubo, Tamada Okazaki Honda Nakamura, Endo, Hasebe, Nakamura Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tulio, Uchida Narazaki His performance vs Korea killed his chances. Its a shame isn't it. The best player on Japan from the Bejing/London generation.
GK: Narazaki, Sogahata, Kawashima DF: Nakazawa, Tulio, Uchida, Nagatomo, Iwamasa, Komano, Konno, Makino MF: S. Nakamura, Hasebe, Matsui, K. Nakamura, Endo, Inamoto, Abe, Yamase FW: Okazaki, Honda, Tamada, Lolol [LINEUP-4-4-2]Okazaki, Honda, K.Nakamura, Hasebe, Matsui, S.Nakamura, Nagatomo, Nakazawa, Tulio, Uchida, Narazaki[/LINEUP-4-4-2]
Just for fun... (3-4-1-2) Narazaki Makino Tulio Hosogai Matsui Hasebe Konno Otsu Kagawa Okazaki Morimoto Bench: Higashiguchi Iwamasa Nagatomo Abe or Ishikawa S.Nakamura Maeda or Sato Shigamatsu or Miyayoshi Another one I would think about (if fit) is Ono.
My 23. Keepers Narazaki Kawashima ? Defenders Nakazawa Tulio Uchida Komano Nagatomo Iwamasa Makino Midfielders S.Nakamura Honda Matsui Hasebe Ishikawa Kagawa Endo Inamoto Forwards Morimoto Okazaki ? Maybe Maeda or Sato ? So hard, maybe one young player
The best Japan NT lineup: GK Yuta Minami Tatsuya Enomoto DF Shigeki Tsujimoto Tatsuya Ishikawa Akira Kaji Hideyuki Ujiie Kazuki Teshima MF Tomoyuki Sakai Koji Nakata Mituso Ogasawara, Yasuhito Endo Masashi Motoyama Junichi Inamoto Shinji Ono FW Naohiro Takahara Ryuji Bando Yuichiro Nagai Yasunori Takada
My 23: GK: Narazaki, Kawashima, Nishikawa DF: Nakazawa, Tulio, Iwamasa, Uchida, Nagatomo, Komano, Konno MF: Nakamura (X2 !), Endo, Hasebe, Honda, Kagawa, Matsui, Inamoto, Yamase FW: Sato, Morimoto, Hirayama, Maeda
I think Matsu is giving away free tickets to all of Japan's matches in S. Africa with all expenses paid to the first person that answers correctly!! I'll PM you my home address Matsu!
Tickets in row 999ZZZ, and free accommodation at the 0.5-star Cape Town Tourist Bungalow and Pickpocket Plaza. "After a night with us youll feel 5000 pounds (sterling) lighter."
Because I am insane. Also, because he didn't really impress me during the 2008 Olympics. Really, it's because I am tainted by the memory of that game, and of the final match against Australia in Melbourne. (Sorry, I have only seen, in their entirety, four matches with Japan throughout qualification) Okazaki gives me the vibe that he's hugely talented, but may fold under high pressure. He reminds me of a US player, Edson Buddle. Unfortunately, I have not seen any of the Asian cup qualifiers because they are not shown on US TV where I live now (Irony!). I have heard that Okazaki is a beast now. My lineup looks ill informed because I can only go by what I know.
I got Matsu's line-up, but did not want to give away my age... BTW, in my previous squad I forgot Nozawa. He has both quantity and quality, too bad for him he plays for Antlers.
It's getting more and more ridiculous that he is not called. He scores every week, puts on great performances, is one of the most skilled japanese and he is constantly ignored . Sogahata is the best GK right now IMO.
I think Ujiie would be an excellent choice......I always thought Okada's biggest problem was that he wasn't selecting players from Tonan Maebashi ON TO VICTORY!
Truth is Japan has 4-5 goalies more or less at the same level. They are good, but not exceptional; capable of great saves, but also not particularly charismatic. I am OK to go with Narazaki, as he is the one with more experience. Nishikawa is not having a great season and imo he should be left at home. I agree with bringing a third young goalie, but then I believe Albirex Higashiguchi is doing much better and would deserve the call, imo.
I was totally gonna agree with you but then you quoted qwtki who I completely disagree with. Now I'm not sure what to do.
This sock is getting better everytime he's banned, now he talks to himself. Can't wait too see what's left in his ideas box.