Asian teams face crunch World Cup games

They sit on three points,the same as Greece,but while the Greeks face Argentina next,Huh Jung-Moo’s men have an easier task against Nigeria,on paper at least,today evening in Durban.

“The Nigeria game is now extremely important and it will decide if we reach the round of 16,” Huh said.

Captain Park Ji-Sung added that it was a great opportunity to make the knockout rounds for only the second time in their history,following their semi-final appearance on home soil in 2002.

“This is not different from any other World Cup match. We want to win all of them. This is our last match in our group phase so we don’t want to miss any opportunities,” he said.

“What’s most important is that there’s going to be a lot of pressure but we have to play to our full potential,and we have to be confident.”

Japan came into the tournament on a bad run of form,but a 1-0 victory over Cameroon and a narrow 1-0 loss to the Netherlands has them believing again.

They have a crunch match in Rustenburg against Denmark on Thursday that will decide their fate. The Dutch are already qualified and Cameroon are out of the tournament with Japan and Denmark both on three points.

Japan though have a better goal difference and a draw will be enough.

Coach Takeshi Okada said it is going to be the “match of their lives”.

“We have been given a chance to reach the last 16,” said Okada. “This is a chance in our lifetime.”

Japan captain Makoto Hasebe said that Okada had told the team to “stake everything on the next game.”

“There will be few matches in our lives in which we will have a chance to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup,” said Hasebe.

In contrast,Australia has struggled in South Africa,ridiculed at home after losing 4-0 to Germany before a better performance in their 1-1 draw with Ghana.

They go into tomorrow’s clash with Serbia bottom of Group D on one point needing a victory while hoping either group leaders Ghana win by any margin or Germany hammer the Ghanaians in the simultaneous match.

Then there is the more recent case of France,at the 2006 finals in Germany.

Shackled by the fear of repeating their woeful World Cup display in 2002 France began badly,drawing with Switzerland and South Korea.

That left Zinedine Zidane and his teammates requiring victory over Togo,which they achieved.

With qualification assured France went on to beat Spain,Brazil and Portugal,before losing the final on penalties to Italy.

Capello believes his England can emulate the class of 1990 and Les Bleus four years ago.

“I hope that after playing a big performance the minds of the players will be free and we can play like the England that I know,” the Italian said.

The England boss must decide whether to make significant changes to his line-up.

One of Terry’s gripes for example was Capello’s refusal to play Joe Cole – arguably England’s best player in Germany four years ago.

With Jamie Carragher suspended,Matthew Upson will start alongside Terry in central defence while striker Emile Heskey could be replaced.

Unlike England,table toppers Slovenia need only a draw to progress after a 1-0 defeat of Algeria and a 2-2 draw with the United States.

Slovenia captain Robert Koren scents an upset.

“They (England) didn’t show the type of football we expect of them,” he said. “It gives us some hope,but we will see.”

Whatever happens on the pitch an electric atmosphere is assured off it with England’s sizeable travelling fan club set to wake up this sleepy Eastern Cape port.

Whether England wake up is another matter.