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Japan in quest for the third title
Zico will not have important squad members available for the 13th edition of Asian Cup, the continent’s main football competition. Even though, the Japanese National Team is the current champion, pursues the third title (1992 and 2000) and steps on Chinese soil under the condition of favorite, together with South Korea, fourth placed in the 2002 World Cup, and Saudi Arabia.
 The absences are in fact the coach’s main concern. Five first squad members were cut from the team due to various reasons. The list includes athletes from the Olympic National Team and injured players. In face of such problems, the coach was forced to make last minute changes.
The attacker Takahara, who suffers from a circulatory system disease, was out of the plans since the last trip to Europe, but losing Inamoto, Nakata, Kubo and the defender Tsuboi represented a great loss to the team. Before boarding to China, Zico still released the attacker Yanagisawa to join his team, the Italian Messina.
The host cities
For the first time in the history of the competition, played at every four years since 1956, the finals take place in China: Chongquing, Jinan, Chengdu and the capital Beijing will be the host cities.
Japan is in Group D, a tough group, and only the top two advance to the next stage. Iran is the best placed in FIFA’s Official Ranking: 21st. Japan comes in 24th. Another threat is Oman, coincidently one of the main opponents in the World Cup’s Qualifiers. The unpretending Thailand National Team is the fourth member of the group hosted in Chongquing.
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