Japan head coach Alberto Zaccheroni has named his squad for the World Cup, where his side will compete in Group E with Ivory Coast, Greece and South American side Colombia.
Ahead of their first game with the African side on June 14, Zaccheroni told fifa.com: “We will respect our opponents but certainly won’t be frightened.”
“If you go into a game with fear, you’re in trouble. We need to go in prepared and bring our own qualities. We have a lot of attacking players.”
Key names in the Japanese squad would include Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa, AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda and Inter Milan wing back Yuto Nagatomo.
The team is widely expected to reach the last-16 by their fans, but both Ivory Coast and Greece will prove tricky opposition and Colombia are favourites to win the section in the own continent.
