TOKYO — Japan will have a golden opportunity to see how far it has advanced under coach Alberto Zaccheroni when the team plays at the Confederations Cup in Brazil.
Under coach Takeshi Okada, Japan surprised many at the 2010 World Cup by advancing past the group stage with wins over Cameroon and Denmark before losing to Paraguay on penalties.
That success has many expecting more when Japan faces Brazil, Italy and Mexico in a tough Group A.
Japan’s first game of the tournament will be against Brazil on Saturday. Japan has never beaten Brazil in nine meetings at full international level, with the five-time world champions winning seven and scoring 24 goals.
The last time the two teams met was in a friendly in October, when Brazil beat the Asian champions 4-0.
“The Confederations Cup will be tough but that’s what we want,” Zaccheroni said. “Only quality teams are in the tournament, so we must use the competition as a building block for 2014. I don’t know how many days we’ll have to prepare for the Confederations Cup, but the tournament will be a good chance for us to learn what is missing in relation to where we want to be in the following year.”
Japan enters the tournament with several pressing questions, most importantly the fitness of Keisuke Honda, who has struggled with injuries.
Japan needs a big contribution from the CSKA Moscow midfielder with Inter Milan defender Yuto Nagatomo recovering from a torn left meniscus. Without Honda, Japan lost 2-1 at Jordan on March 26 in World Cup qualifying, its first defeat of the final round.
They are clearly a better team with Honda in the lineup.
Zaccheroni will also rely heavily on Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa and Stuttgart striker Shinji Okazaki.
Kagawa became the first Asian player to score a hat trick in the English Premier League when he led his team to a 4-0 win over Norwich in March. Okazaki scored twice as Japan beat Latvia 3-0 in a friendly in February.
A key question in Brazil will be how Zaccheroni will use Kagawa. Kagawa played mainly as a left midfielder this season with United, rather than in his preferred role behind a striker.
After Brazil, Japan faces Italy on June 19 before wrapping up the group stage against Mexico on June 22.
Zaccheroni, who is Italian, said a key to success in the tournament will be taking advantage of Japan’s unique strengths.
“When you go out and play strong opponents, they are often able to utilize their physical strength against us,” Zaccheroni said, “but Japan can counter them with speed and solid basic skills.”