World Cup 2014: Can Japan surprise in Group C?

By Steven Oldham

After Colombia's impressive win over Greece today their status as group favourites seems well earned, and a victory for either team in the upcoming game between Japan and Cote D'Ivoire could be key in deciding who makes the last 16.

Greece did themselves no favours today and look too limited going forwards to make the knockout rounds. Japan could take advantage of this and make the round of sixteen.

Ivory Coast's much-mentioned golden generation are now aging and their time to shine looks to have passed. They still have immense individual talent, but on too many occasions now at continental and global level they have failed to deliver. If they can finally get it together, they can qualify from what is a very open group.

Japan were the first Asian nation to qualify for Brazil, immediately gaining an advantage over continental rivals South Korea and Australia.

Last year in the Confederations Cup, Japan finished bottom of their group with no points.  However, that only tells half the story. Well beaten by Brazil, they came very close to upsetting Italy and gained much praise for their attacking style of play before going down 4-3. Not many teams put 3 past the Italians and they were unlucky to lose.

In Shinji Okazaki they have an in form striker who topped the scoring charts in the Asian qualifying section. He also hit 15 goals for Mainz this season in the Bundesliga. He has the potential to be the breakout star of this World Cup.

Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kawaga meanwhile will benefit from playing both regularly and in the right position.  A player gifted with great vision, pace and accuracy, frustrated by his lack of progress at club level he will be determined to shine at this World Cup.  

Can Shinji Kagawa take Japan to the last 16? (@ManUtdGram)

Defensively, they do still have room for improvement, but with the likes of Okazaki, Kagawa and AC Milan striker Keisuke Honda in their ranks there is always the potential for goals, notice the plural.

They come into the tournament in form, having won four friendlies in a row, including a 3-1 win over Costa Rica who impressively defeated Uruguay earlier tonight. They have also defeated 2012 African Cup of Nations champions Zambia, New Zealand and Cyprus this year.

If Japan can defeat or hold a physical Ivory Coast side, they give themselves every chance of making the knockout stages for a third time. 

More World Cup content:

World Cup match report: Uruguay 1-3 Costa Rica

World Cup 2014: Chile looking to put the heat on Spain and The Netherlands

World Cup 2014: Could Croatia be a dark horse?

World Cup: Spain 1-5 Netherlands: Robben and RVP run riot as Spanish capitulate

Tahiti - losing but a breath of fresh air amongst the big boys

By Steven Oldham

Confederations Cup debutants Tahiti are 3-0 down to Nigeria as I write this, but their play in the first half of the Group B match has been a pleasant surprise.

It is no surprise to see Nigeria comfortably in front at half time but it could and should've been more.  Tahiti have played their part in the smaller number of goals by playing some positive attacking football.

I was fully expecting to see them park the bus in all three games - to see them pushing forwards and pressurising the African champions was an unlikely but welcome sight.  Nigeria are probably only running at 80% but by no means are mauling the islanders as widely predicted before the match.

The undoubted star of the first half has been Steevy Chong Hue.  The AS Dragon striker came so close to scoring an unlikely goal on the stroke of half time and all of Tahiti's good play involved him.  The rest of the team seem to know this and are aiming plenty of balls in his direction.

Nigeria on the other hand are in cruise control.  3-0 probably won't satisfy their coach, fans and could possibly decide whether or not they progress from the group stages.  Goal difference could come into play to decide who makes the final four, and Spain and Uruguay will be confident of knocking more past the OFC Nations Cup champions.

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Tahiti: The biggest underdogs in the history of world football

By Steven Oldham

Tomorrow in Belo Horizonte, amateurs Tahiti begin their first ever Confederations Cup campaign against Nigeria with the sole intention of keeping their almost inevitable group stage losses to a respectable level.

That Tahiti are even competing in Brazil is a surprise in itself.  The largest island in French Polynesia won last year's Oceania Nations Cup for the first time to qualify, beating New Caledonia 2-0 in the final.  Regional power, and four times winners,  New Zealand - expected to dominate the competition ever since Australia left the OFC in 2006 - underachieved and finished third having been knocked out in the semis by New Caledonia.

Drawn into Group B alongside Nigeria, Spain, and Uruguay, Tahiti face a daunting task and could score some unwanted records in their three group matches. Australia and Saudi Arabia have both lost by six goals to Brazil (6-0 and 8-2 respectively) in the tournament's history.  I don't feel it's disrespectful to say it would be an achievement for Tahiti to restrict their opponents to single figure victories.  This is the international equivalent of sending Havant & Waterlooville to a tournament including Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Ranked 138th in the world, below the likes of Namibia, Moldova and Vietnam, Tahiti's team includes several graduates from the side that qualified for the Under 20 World Cup four years ago.  There is evidence that Tahiti and the others are closing the gap to New Zealand, beyond the 2012 OFC Nations Cup result .  In the final round of World Cup 2014 qualifying, which New Zealand won to progress to an intercontinental playoff in November, there wasn't as many one-sided results as is common with the Oceania qualifying process.  The All Whites were restricted two-goal margins in all three of their away fixtures. In qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, New Zealand put ten past Tahiti without reply.    

So will any of the Tahiti players cause a shock and make a name for themselves? Unlikely, but their highest profile player is arguably the AS Nancy striker Marama Vahirua, who spent last season on loan in Greece.  He has scored over 70 goals in French football and played for France at under-21 level under Raymond Domenech.  He is the only player in the 23-man squad not to play his football in Tahiti's First Division.  If reports are to believed, they will adopt a 'defence first' approach in Brazil to keep events respectable.     

While it may seem pointless for a team of Tahiti's stature to be involved with some of the world's best teams in Brazil, there is no doubt they have earned their place.  The long term future of the OFC will look a lot stronger if the island nations including Tahiti and New Caledonia continue to improve and challenge New Zealand's position as regional top dog.

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