Japan national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni has been requesting the football Association to schedule matches against tougher opposition, as it would help them prepare well for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014.

Japan manager Alberto Zaccheroni has requested total commitment and focus from his players ahead of the World Cup qualifying match with Jordan. The match will take place on Tuesday, and there has already been talk of the players keeping one eye on the result between Australia and Oman.

Japan are currently top of the table, and they could be on the brink of qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil if they managed a victory against Jordan coupled with other results going their way. This primarily includes a draw between Australia and Oman.

Aside from the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil, Japan have been on a really good run of form in recent months. They continued their good work in the friendly match against Latvia, which pleased the manager Alberto Zaccheroni.

Japan will be looking to gather momentum in the New Year according to the manager Alberto Zaccheroni. He has said that the year 2013 will be extremely decisive for the team in the hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

A lot has also been expected of Japan in recent times, while many suggesting that they could become the next major force in the world. However, the team first needs to qualify for the World Cup according to the manager. He has said that due to the fact that there is not a lot of time in 2014, the team should make use of this year to reach its peak.

The Japanese national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni has said that he is extremely delighted to be paired along with Italy in the group stages of the Confederations cup that will take place in the summer.

The Japanese national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni has said that he has no issues with the absence of the Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa for the upcoming qualifying match against Oman.

The Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa has said that he has pulled out of the World Cup qualification matches against Iraq due to a back injury, but it is not a serious injury that will keep him on the sidelines for much longer.

The Manchester United midfielder has become one of the important players within the team. He has had a good partnership with the new striker Robin van Persie. Hence, there have been fears that Manchester United will miss him for the next couple of matches after he pulled out just a few hours prior to the match against Iraq.

Japan were taking on Venezuela in a friendly match. However, they could only muster a draw in this match partly because of the high temperatures. Japan were coming into the match against Venezuela as the clear favourites to win due to their recent form.

Japan manager Alberto Zaccheroni has said that he is extremely confident that Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa will be a major signing for Manchester United, according to Man Utd news.

The English club recently secured the signature of the 23-year-old Japanese midfielder, who has been playing for German club Borussia Dortmund. After missing out on the signing of highly rated Eden Hazard, Manchester United turned their attention towards the Japanese midfielder.

The Japanese Football Association has said that the J-League should be transformed in such a way that it will be in line with the European calendar.

The J-League is the top flight of Japanese football, but it follows its own calendar. This, according to the Japanese football Association, has been causing a lot of problems for the national team and also for the players.

Hence, they have asked the J-League to consider switching to the European calendar. It has been suggested that the way to make this change possible would be to extend the 2013 season to 18 months.