Japan are one of the best sides from the Asian qulifying section and will be looking to at least match their 2002 performance where they reached the second round.
Japan won't be expected to get too far in the World Cup and their World Cup Odds represent the chance of winning they have.
| Date | Team | Scores | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 4 - 1 | Thailand | |
| Bahrain | 1 - 0 | Japan | |
| Japan | 3 - 0 | Oman | |
| Oman | 1 -1 | Japan | |
| Thailand | 0 - 3 | Japan | |
| Japan | 1 - 0 | Bahrain | |
| Bahrain | 2- 3 | Japan | |
| Japan | 1 - 1 | Uzbekistan | |
| Qatar | 0 - 3 | Japan | |
| Japan | 0 - 0 | Australia | |
| Japan | 1 - 0 | Bahrain | |
| Uzbekistan | 0 - 1 | Japan | |
| Japan | 1 - 1 | Qatar | |
| Australia | 2 - 1 | Japan |
Japan will be happy to have once again qualified for the World Cup but they face much tougher games in South Africa than they did in qualifying.
| Goalkeepers | Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata) |
| Defenders | Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F-Marinos), Tulio (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers) |
| Midfielders | Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F-Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble) |
| Forwards | Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata) |
| Year | Stage of Exit |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Eliminated in Group Stage |
| 2002 | Eliminated in Second Round |
| 1998 | Eliminated in Group Stage |
| 1994 | Did Not Qualify |
| 1990 | Did Not Qualify |
The best exchange bet on Japan is simply to lay them to qualify from their group, in all likelihood they will be the worst team in their group as the Japan World Cup odds suggest.
With Japan looking likely to struggle we think the best spread bet is to sell them in the group index as it would be a surprise if they even gain a win.