As Takeshi Okada leads his Blue Samurai forces against Qatar he knows with both squads tied two points behind Australia a victory is an absolute must to avoid the disaster of not qualifying for the World Cup. However without a victory over Qatar in the past and with so much on the line, they have a massive task.
Takeshi Okada said of the match:
"We are well prepared for this match. I am happy with the way we have approached this match. I am extremely happy to find the weather so much to our liking. In fact, I am quite surprised that it is so pleasant."
The Blue Samurai are troubled with a number of injuries including Celtics Shunsuke Nakamura who is questionable.
Takeshi Okada would not reveal his lineup only to say:
"We will see how things go in our last training session. I will decide on the playing 11 after the final training session on Tuesday evening."
Many consider this match as the definitive point for Takeshi Okada's career heading up Japan as without a win he will feel enormous pressure to step down.
Enjoy the match and I will be providing regular updates throughout.
The build-up for Qatar match didn’t materialize into the challenge anyone was expecting as Takeshi Okada’s Blue Samurai easily defeated Qatar 3-0 with goals from J-League Urawa Reds Tatsuya Tanaka and Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Grampus’ Keiji Tamada. Japan took the lead at the nineteenth minute at twenty year-old Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers) crossed to Tatsuya Tanaka (Urawa Red Diamonds) who nutted Qatar ‘keeper Mohamed Saqr. Showing great patience the Blue Samurai controlled play and didn’t allow a reasonable goal scoring attempt towards veteran ‘keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Júbilo Iwata) throughout the balance of the half. Two minutes after the restart Wolfsburg’s Makoto Hasebe found an open Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus) who drove the ball to the back of the net from the top of the area. The Nippon attack thirsted for more goals, with Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe) narrowly missing just before the hour mark but with twenty-one minutes remaining Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura crossed perfectly to Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa Red Diamonds), who subsequently nodded into the back of the net to make it 3-0. Japan continued to press for more goals but they fell short and the match concluded with a powerful 3-0 victory.
