Manager: Takeshi Okada

Key player: Shunsuke Nakamura

Best: Round two (2002)

World ranking: 43

Takeshi Okada's Japan became the first team to book their place in South Africa after earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Shunji Okazaki grabbed the only goal of the game after nine minutes to book a fourth successive finals berth. They finished second in their Asian qualifying group, having lost their final game to eventual group-winners Australia, but this should not take away from the ease of their progression.

Japan have shown signs of steady improvement over the four successive World Cup tournaments in which they have participated. As joint hosts in 2002 they reached the second round before losing to eventual third-place finishers Turkey, but they will do well to achieve such a feat again. Much rests on the shoulders of ex-Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, now with Espanyol, to provide the spark.