Japan World Cup Team Preview Odds To Win

Japan

Odds to Win World Cup: +25000

Soccer hasn't been kind to the Asian nations, particularly since the World Cup was in South Korea in 2002, but Japan has some hope for a successful run in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

How They Got Here: Asian qualifying wasn't difficult this year for the Japanese, as they stormed through the five team group without any real issues. Yes, trying to get past Australia was a bit of a task, as Japan on managed one point in two matches with the Socceroos, but when push came to shove, a 4-2-0 record in six matches against Bahrain, Uzbekistan, and Qatar was more than enough to qualify for the greatest spectacle in soccer.

Player to Watch: It's not often that Japanese soccer has produced a real global star, but that's what F Shunsuke Nakamura is trying to do. He played for the top team in Scotland, Celtic for four seasons before transferring to Espanyol of the Spanish Primera last summer. After making just 12 scoreless appearances in Spain, Nakamura returned home to play for Yokohama F. Marinos, the team that he began his soccer playing career with in 1997. In 95 career appearances for the Japanese national team, Nakamura has 24 goals, three of which came in qualifying for the '10 World Cup.

Previous World Cup Experience: This is only the fourth time that the Japanese have ever made it to the World Cup. They made their debut in 1998 in France in a very disappointing pointless effort that saw them outscored 4-1 in three matches. In South Korea, Japan notched its first and only two World Cup wins to date before getting bounced in the Round of 16. An 0-1-2 record in three matches in Germany in 2006 also saw the Japanese get knocked out before advancing into the second stage.

Key to Advancing: There probably won't be a match that Japan feels that it should really get three points in, but the team probably knows that there isn't a match that isn't potentially winnable either on this slate. The key for the Japanese is going to be making sure that it stays tight to the vest in the back. The defense absolutely cannot let the quick strikers in this group penetrate the back wall. Probably more so than any other team in this tournament, Japan needs to keep games ugly to get through the first round.

Predictions: Much like Denmark, this is a team that has a lot of potential, and perhaps in an easier group, would've been able to find some success. However, that probably just isn't the case. Even though manager Takeshi Okada claims that his team is shooting at a semifinal appearance, there really is virtually no way that that could happen without a slew of unexpected results. The Japanese should be finished after three matches.

Round 1 Schedule
Japan vs. Cameroon (June 14th, 10:00 AM ET, Mangaung)
Netherlands vs. Japan (June 19th, 7:30 AM ET, Durban)
Denmark vs. Japan (June 24th, 2:30 PM ET, Rustenburg)

All Odds for 2010 World Cup from Brobury Sports

Odds to Win Group E
Cameroon +450
Denmark +375
Japan +1100
Netherlands -175
Odds to Advance Group E
Cameroon +100
Denmark -120
Japan +300
Netherlands -700