Japan's veteran captain Homare Sawa has said that he wants to lift the standard of Japan football. The 32-year-old from Tokyo is set to compete in her fifth World Cup when Japan open their campaign against New Zealand in Bochum on Monday.

But despite reaching the quarter-finals in 1995, the country's record 166-capped player says her side have often underachieved on the world stage.

"We didn't get good results in past World Cups (they have gone out in the first round in the past three editions)," said Sawa, after the final training session at the World Cup stadium here.