The phenomenon of a “Group of Death” has faded in the modern era, with the expansion of the World Cup and the seeding system helping to spread the load, but Japan might still politely disagree.
Japan are in Group E at the Qatar World Cup, alongside four-time champions Germany, FIFA’s seventh-best side in the world, Spain, and Costa Rica. Japan are World Cup regulars, but will need to pull out all the stops to get out of a group containing two of Europe’s heavy-hitters.
In Russia four years ago, the Samurai Blue managed to get out of their group, picking up four points against Colombia, Senegal, and Poland to progress to the knockout stages. There they raced into a 2-0 lead against a much-fancied Belgium side, before slipping to a 3-2 defeat which ensured they still hadn’t made it past the last-16 of a World Cup in seven attempts.
Back then they were ranked 50th in the world; now they are 24th and therefore, in theory, better prepared for the challenge, which begins against Germany on Wednesday. "Our goal is to at least reach the quarter-finals," manager Hajime Moriyasu said when naming his squad. "It won't be easy."
As ever, there is plenty of talent in their squad – and a few familiar names. Japan are captained by former Southampton defender Maya Yoshida, who is vastly experienced at international level, having picked up 122 caps. The 34-year-old centre-back now plays for Schalke, following a spell with Sampdoria, and will be key to Japan’s chances of keeping Spain and Germany quiet.
He is joined in defence by Arsenal ’s versatile full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu and former Marseille right-back Hiroki Sakai. Conceding goals hasn’t been much of a problem for Japan of late – they had kept five successive clean sheets before their 2-1 friendly defeat by Canada last week.
However, Japan are about to experience a step up in quality. Playing in the Asia confederation is not great preparation for a World Cup and their forward players are going to have to be in their very best form to break down star-studded defences in the heat of Qatar.
Much of that creative burden will fall upon former Liverpool attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino. The 27-year-old left Merseyside for Monaco in June and hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts in the south of France, with just one goal and three assists coming in nine Ligue 1 matches so far.
However, Japan can call upon an in-form creative presence in the form of Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma. The 25-year-old has five goals in just nine caps for his country, two of which came as a substitute to clinch Japan’s World Cup qualification with a 2-0 victory over Australia earlier this year.
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Remarkably, Mitoma was playing university football in Japan during the 2018 World Cup. Now he is a Premier League star, having left Japan for Brighton, via a loan spell in Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise.
Mitoma has looked the part for the Seagulls this season, chipping in with a goal and an assist in the Premier League so far. He comes into the tournament with goals in his past two Brighton matches and will be one of the players to watch for Japan.
"Mitoma is a big player and I think he has very big potential, and he didn't show all his potential,” Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said after he scored in a 3-2 win over Wolves earlier this month. “He can improve a lot and he can become a very big player."
There is a new look to Japan’s attack. Gone are stalwarts like Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, who formed the backbone of the attack four years ago. And while Celtic stars Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate missed out on selection, there is a familiar name for Arsenal fans to look out for.
Takuma Asano never made an appearance for Arsenal. He arrived in north London from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the summer of 2016 as a 21-year-old forward with a promising reputation. “Takuma is a talented young striker and very much one for the future,” said Arsene Wenger at the time after missing out on Leicester ’s Jamie Vardy.
Asano was not granted a work permit so headed to Germany to play for Hannover and Stuttgart on loan. Eventually, three years after joining the Gunners, Asano left for Partizan Belgrade on a permanent deal. Now 28, he is back in Germany with Bocum and will be looking to add to his seven goals in 37 appearances for Japan.
