Meet the Team: JAPAN!
Now that squads have been announced, we can look more closely into the hotness of the individual teams. I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right? For each team, I’ll talk a bit about the squad, then highlight ten hotties.
Today: JAPAN!
We’ve made it through all 32 teams now, and are ending on a hot note: the Blue Samurai of Japan. Blessed with a mixture of youth and experience, and a new coach that has helped restore team unity, Japan look pretty good this year. How far can go; for how long can they please our eyes?
Team Nickname: Blue Samurai Fan chant: Vamos Nippon!
Goalkeepers:
Eiji Kawashima, #1 (home club: Metz)
Masaaki Higashiguchi, #12 (home club: Gamba Osaka)
Kosuke Nakamura, #23 (home club: Kashiwa Reysol)
Defenders:
Naomichi Ueda, #2 (home club: Kashima Antlers)
Gen Shoji, #3 (home club: Kashima Antlers)
Yuto Nagatomo, #5 (home club: Galatasaray)
Hiroki Sakai, #19 (home club: Marseille)
Wataru Endo, #6 (home club: Urawa Reds)
Tomoaki Makino, #20 (home club: Urawa Reds)
Gotoku Sakai, #21 (home club: Hamburg)
Maya Yoshida, #22 (home club: Southampton)
Midfielders:
Gaku Shibasaki, #7 (home club: Getafe)
Genki Haraguchi, #8 (home club: Fortuna Dusseldorf)
Takashi Usami, #11 (home club: Fortuna Dusseldorf)
Takashi Inui, #14 (home club: Eibar)
Hotaru Yamaguchi, #16 (home club: Cerezo Osaka)
Keisuke Honda, #4 (home club: Pachuca)
Shinji Kagawa, #10 (home club: Borussia Dortmund)
Makoto Hasebe, #17 (home club: Eintracht Frankfurt)
Ryota Oshima, #18 (home club: Kawasaki Frontale)
Forwards
Shinji Okazaki, #9 (home club: Leicester)
Yuya Osako, #15 (home club: Werder Bremen)
Yoshinori Muto, #13 (home club: Mainz)
