Japan poised to seal World Cup berth
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 26, 2013
Asian champion Japan is poised to become the first country to join host Brazil at the 2014 World Cup when it takes its unbeaten record in the final qualifying round to Jordan today.
The tournament may still be 15 months away but Japan's blistering form in the Asian qualifiers has put it almost out of sight of its four Group B rivals and on the verge of a fifth consecutive World Cup appearance.
With four wins and a draw in their first five games, the Blue Samurai have an eight-point lead in the group and they will book their ticket to Brazil with another victory at the King Abdullah Stadium.
Even a draw might be enough if today's other Group B tie between Australia and Oman in Sydney ends in a stalemate.
Japan trounced Jordan 6-0 at the Saitama Stadium last June but forward Keisuke Honda, who scored a hat-trick in that match, was declared unfit by his Russian club CSKA Moscow.
Coach Alberto Zaccheroni will also be missing Inter Milan full-back Yuto Nagatomo, who has a knee injury.
But the Italian is confident in the strength of his squad, which includes Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa and VfB Stuttgart forward Shinji Okazaki, who has scored four goals in Japan's last three games. "Everyone knows how highly I value (Honda and Nagatomo) but it's not the first time we have been without them," Zaccheroni said.
Australia is currently second in Group B on goal difference after a 2-1 victory over Iraq last October, when goals in the final 10 minutes boosted its bid for a third consecutive World Cup appearance.
The top two in the group will automatically qualify for Brazil with the third-placed side earning a chance for an intercontinental playoff.
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