World Cup Qualifying - Asia
play pause open Close
 
3 vs 0
Played
June 3, 2012 11:30 AM BST
Saitama Stadium 2002 — Saitama
Referee:‬ R. Irmatov‎
Attendance:‬ 63551‎
 
12′ Keisuke Honda
 
52′ Ryoichi Maeda
 
55′ Shinji Okazaki
 

Japan - Oman Preview: Samurai Blue look to flex muscle early against secretive Al-Ahmar

With the full slate of Europe-based players ready to play a part, home supporters will expect a big result against the 92nd Fifa-ranked nation on Sunday night

By Dan Orlowitz

More On :  Japan, Oman, Japan vs Oman
Japan national team
Getty Images
  PROBABLE LINE-UPS

JAPAN

Kawashima
Uchida, Yoshida, Konno, Nagatomo
Hasebe, Endo
Okazaki, Honda, Kagawa
Havenaar
OMAN
Al Habsi
Al Mukhaini, Salam, M. Al Balushi, S. Al Balushi
Mubarak
Hadid, Al Hadri, Darwish
Al Muqbali, Al Hosni

Japan will be looking to get off to a quick start in the final round of qualifying for Brazil 2014 with a win against visiting Oman in Saitama Stadium, where the hosts are virtually invincible under manager Alberto Zaccheroni and will be playing in front of a sell-out crowd.

The Samurai Blue will come out swinging with their traditional 4-2-3-1 formation featuring Keisuke Honda, who proved himself fit in last week's 2-0 win against minnows Azerbaijan, at shadow striker. With Tadanari Lee recovering from foot surgery, Vitesse's Mike Havenaar is expected to start up top.

Conversely, Oman are expected to play for the draw as they rely on a stiff back four and the goalkeeping efforts of Wigan's Ali Al-Habsi to see them through the 90 minutes.

The visitors have been incredibly secretive heading into this match; Japanese TV stations abandoned efforts to obtain footage of Oman's recent friendly against Lebanon when their federation set a price of €200,000 for the full match, and Japanese media have largely been locked out of practices.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Japan have an unbeaten record against Oman with five wins and three draws.
  • Shinji Okazaki leads the team with five goals in the qualifiers.
  • Twelve of Japan's 25 members are currently active in Europe, with two more (Hiroshi Kiyotake and Hiroki Sakai) set to join Bundesliga sides this summer.
  • Oman have yet to qualify for a World Cup final.
  • Coach Paul Le Guen lead Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals, in addition to coaching French club Lyon to three straight Ligue 1 crowns.
  • Al-Ahmar reached the final round of qualifying by scoring just three goals in six matches, leapfrogging Saudi Arabia to finish second in Group D beneath Australia.

Follow Goal.com Asia on and
for the latest in Asian footballing news, features, and analysis

Follow Goal.com on Twitter

Follow Goal.com on Facebook
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Japan 3-0 Oman
    19.05 %
  • Japan 2-0 Oman
    18.57 %
  • Japan 1-0 Oman
    12.38 %
Head to Head
World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Nov 14, 2012 Oman 1 - Japan 2
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Jun 3, 2012 Japan 3 - Oman 0
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
  • Preview
Last Five Matches
Japan
Mar 26, 2013Jordan 2 - Japan 1WCQ
Mar 22, 2013Japan 2 - Canada 1FR
Feb 6, 2013Japan 3 - Latvia 0FR
Nov 14, 2012Oman 1 - Japan 2WCQ
Oct 16, 2012Japan 0 - Brazil 4FR
Oman
Mar 26, 2013Australia 2 - Oman 2WCQ
Mar 20, 2013Oman 3 - Haiti 0FR
Feb 6, 2013Oman 1 - Syria 0ACQ
Jan 30, 2013Oman 1 - China 0FR
Jan 11, 2013UAE 2 - Oman 0GC
Odds
Returns: Japan £11.40 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £610.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Oman £810.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
1Eiji KawashimaGoalkeeper
6Atsuto UchidaDefender
5Maya YoshidaDefender
15Yasuyuki KonnoDefender
5Yuto NagatomoDefender
4Keisuke HondaMidfielder
17Makoto HasebeMidfielder
7Yasuhito EndōMidfielder
18Ryoichi MaedaStriker
10Shinji KagawaMidfielder
9Shinji OkazakiStriker
23Shuichi GondaGoalkeeper
-Shusaku NishikawaGoalkeeper
4Hiroki SakaiDefender
2Masahiko InohaDefender
-Yuichi KomanoDefender
-Yuzo KuriharaDefender
13Hajime HosogaiMidfielder
8Hiroshi KiyotakeMidfielder
20Hideto TakahashiDefender
-Kengo NakamuraMidfielder
-Mike HavenaarStriker
-Ryo MiyaichiStriker
1Ali Al HabsiGoalkeeper
3Jaber Al OwaisiDefender
11Saad SuhailDefender
13Abdul Sallam Al MukhainiDefender
-Ahmed Kano
10Fawzi BashirMidfielder
7Hussain Al HadhriMidfielder
2Mohammed Al MusalamiMidfielder
-Ahmed Hadid
10Emad Al HosnyStriker
6Raed Ibrahim SalehMidfielder
22Hani SaleemGoalkeeper
18Faiz Al RashidiGoalkeeper
8Ali Salim Al NaharDefender
-Mohammed Al Balushi
-Mohamed Al MaashariMidfielder
-Mohamed Hamed
4Ali Al JabriMidfielder
-Mohammed Al Ghassani
-Azan Al Balushi
9Abdul Aziz Al MuqbaliStriker
15Ismail Al AjmiStriker
-Waleed 'Abdallah
Players to Watch
Keisuke Honda
Keisuke Honda
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 4
Games Goals YC RC
5 4 1 0
Japan sorely missed Honda in the last qualifying round following his knee surgery, and on Sunday he should show observers why that was the case. Look for the CSKA attacker to be more aggressive in front of the net and re-establish his dominance on the pitch.
Ali Al Habsi
Ali Al Habsi
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad Number: 1
Games Goals YC RC
13 0 1 0
Oman's three goals in the previous round underscore how crucial Al-Habsi's performance will be to their chance of success; if the Wigan goalkeeper can hold Japan to one goal instead of three or more it would not only be a moral victory but also keep the team from falling into a deep hole in goal difference.
Prediction
Oman will do their best to park the bus, but after ending the last qualifying round with two losses Japan will come out swinging and should overwhelm the visitors quickly with their depth on the attack.
Editor's Prediction
Japan 3
Oman 0
Results
Matchday 1
Times In BST
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Younis Mahmoud Younis Mahmoud
Striker
Al Sadd 		7 1
Shinji Okazaki Shinji Okazaki
Striker
VfB Stuttgart 		7 0
Chu-Young Park Chu-Young Park
Striker
Celta 		6 0
Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan Ibrahim
Striker
Al Sadd 		5 2
Keun-Ho Lee Keun-Ho Lee
Midfielder
Kitakyushu 		5 0