Group E - Japan

The 45th best team in the world are looking to score their first win at the World Cup since the second game of 2002, against Tunisia. No Tunisia this time around, but Japan are in a bit of a pickle.

Were they in any other group, they might stand a chance of coming 3rd. They're that good.

Capital City: Tokyo
Captain: Makoto Hasebe
Manager: Takeshi Okada
Star Man: Shinji Okazaki - the little striker leads the front line for Japan this year around. Having scored 16 goals in his past 28 international games, he could really ignite the team, and I'm sure a lot of people agree that he could indeed be on the verge of a life-changing cup competition.
Group Games: Cameroon (14th June); Netherlands (19th June); Denmark (24th June)
Adam's Prediction: With a little bit of luck, may indeed scrape a draw, but don't hold your breath. 4th in Group E.

Full Squad:
Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata) 

Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers) 

Midfielders: Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama Marinos), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale), Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg/Germany), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow/Russia), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble/France) 

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Yasuhito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania/Italy)