So, two games into the World Cup and nobody in Nippon is in the least bit surprised at the situation the poor wee men find themselves in. Moribund finishing, a lack of power in the midfield and complete transparency in the pass have all added to serve up a dish best eaten with the now legalised whale meat (that was actually freely available in most izakaya’s in Japan already).

As expected the biggest problem has been the manager Zico; a once great player and goalscorer, but now unable to transfer these talents to his football team when it matters most. It was plain to see in the qualifying matches, with the Japanese bitty and uninspired against teams such as North Korea and Bahrain. The brief glimpse of adequacy at the Confederations Cup now appears to be no more than that. Nakata Hideotoshi has bemoaned the style that Zico has imposed on the team: Zico’s creative individualism goes against the Japanese team-ethos that runs from the sport to all strata of society.

Up front the Japanese have looked particularly poor, and nothing typifies their World Cup more than the miss of the tournament - committed at a crucial stage of a must-win game against Croatia by Yanagisawa Atsushi. The most dangerous performer thus far has been the naturalised Brazilian, Alex Santos, but his sporadic forays into games are not enough against teams of this group’s ilk.

In the opening game Guus Hiddink’s tactical nouse was mirrored by Zico’s tactical noose, as the Brazillian failed to change a team that was quite obviously on its last legs and clinging desperately to a 1-0 lead. In response, Hiddink sent on a barrage of attacking talent that simply out-muscled and overpowered the Boys in Blue, giving the Aussies an improbable looking (for 85 minutes) victory.

It has been a tournament of mismanagement, poor excuses (the heat?! - it is 30C in June here and humidity is king!!! And yes, most of the players do ‘ply their trade’ in the native league), crazy decisions and futile 89th minute substitutions. We are hoping for the impossible and the defeat of Brazil, but I feel that the Japanese will not have the belief to attack the faltering giants, and a plucky score-draw is all they can hope for. We shall welcome them back to Narita airport with lukewarm sake. Kanpai!!!

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