Japan is known to be the capital of inventions and robotics, but the name sounds less fancy when it comes to football. Despite that, Japan has managed to become one of the World Cup qualifiers for the sixth time.
It’s hard to beat the deadly European and English leagues, given how these teams are common football betting favorites. But who knows, the Japanese can be a surprise package once they set foot in Russia in time for World Cup 2018.
Skills and Scoring
Japan qualified in Group H together with Poland, Senegal and Colombia. They were able to score an impressive 5-0 win in the qualifiers, with a 2-0 victory against Australia. They also reached the final round of the East Asian Cup.
Football Star Players
Shinji Kagawa who currently plays for German club Borussia Dortmund, Shinji Okazaki who plays for Leicester City Football Club, and Keisuke Honda who plays for Club de Fútbol Pachuca are considered to be Japan national team’s football stars. However, their Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic thinks otherwise.
We still have to see in the coming months if Halilhodzic will include these Japanese footballers in Russia World Cup.
Rising Star
What you should be looking after is rising football star Yosuke Ideguchi. Ideguchi currently plays for Spanish club Cultural Leonesa, but is actually on loan from Leeds United F.C. He was signed at Leeds United for a whopping £500,000.
Yosuke Ideguchi’s international career with Japan national team started when he became part of Japan U23 and won the championship match against South Korea (3-2 win). He scored the second goal beating Australia in a 2-0 win which qualified for the 2018 World Cup. However, it’s still unclear if Vahid Halilhodzic will let him play for the World Cup in Russia.