Japan Football Team Tactics, key players and expert predictions - World Cup 2018

Japan Football Team Tactics, key players and expert predictions - World Cup 2018

Japan have traditionally preferred a possession-based style but Vahid Halilhodzic demands his side look to play on the counter. His drastic reforms have seen Japan’s two biggest stars, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, dropped from the squad as they failed to fit into this philosophy – or, in other words, preferred Japan’s traditional approach. There is also no room for Shinji Okazaki of Leicester City, because Halilhodzic opts for a lone forward capable of holding up the play. These choices, and the manager’s overall style, have been the subject of fierce debate in Japan. Halilhodzic has vast experience of international football and took Ivory Coast to the 2010 World Cup (although he was dismissed before the tournament) and Algeria to the 2014 tournament.

How they qualified Winners of Asian Group B (round three) ahead of Saudi Arabia Preferred system 4-3-3 Star player Maya Yoshida (Southampton) One to watch Yosuke Ideguchi (Gamba Osaka) Manager Vahid Halilhodzic Odds 250-1