SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - Danish and Japanese coaches look for a win at Rustenburg

Record ID: 455479

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - Danish and Japanese coaches look for a win at Rustenburg
  • Date: 24th June 2010
  • Summary: JAPANESE PLAYERS TRAINING MIDFIELDER KEISUKE HONDA (BLOND HAIR) GOALKEEPER YOSHIKATSU KAWAGUCHI HEAD COACH TAKESHI OKADA CAPTAIN YUJI NAKAZAWA TULIO PLAYERS TRAINING COACH TAKESHI OKADA AND PLAYER MAKUTO HASEBE ENTER NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPAN COACH TAKESHI OKADA, SAYING: "As for the match tomorrow, in our meeting I told the players that we should not think about any draw, meaning that we have to score so from the beginning we will start the match in order to win - that's all I said to the players today." WIDE VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPAN PLAYER MAKUTO HASEBE, SAYING: "Tomorrow a truly important match awaits us. We stake our whole lives on this match I believe so we are not looking for a draw we will be winning, thank you." THEY LEAVE NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 9th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA93FZ5MSBZ5Y209SC0FI95Y2L9
  • Story Text: Danish coach Morten Olsen said on Wednesday (June 23) that midfielder Daniel Jensen cannot play in his team's Group E showdown with Japan on Thursday and forward Nicklas Bendtner is doubtful with a groin injury.
    While the Netherlands is already assured of a place in the knockout stage of the World Cup both Denmark and Japan are fighting for the remaining place in the second round. They play at the Royal Bafokeng stadium on Thursday (June 24).
    The Danes reached Rustenburg's match with a strong 2-1 win over Cameroon with Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl scoring for the win. But Olsen told reporters that Bendtner had to restrict his training because of the injury.
    "He has been doing all right," Olsen said of Bendtner, "But he has had to miss every other day of training. Every time he has played we wait to see the reaction to his injury. There is always doubt with an injury like that so we have to wait and see," Denmark has never left a World Cup before reaching the knockout stage and if they are to keep that record intact they must beat Japan, who also have three points and a better goal difference.
    "I do trust that this team can perform better than they have done so far," said Olsen. "That is the reason, that is what we have been talking about for tomorrow. We have had players who were fit and those who were not so fit. If you play the decisive match when you have players who are completely 100 percent fit and having a good day then we will win tomorrow."
    The Japan players trained at the stadium a few hours after the Danes on Wednesday.
    While the statistics mean that Japan could qualify for the next round with a draw, the Japanese team said this was not acceptable.
    Japan coach Takeshi Okada repeatedly said that it was only results that mattered in such a big match and he was not contemplating anything but a win.
    "In our meeting I told the players that we should not think about any draw, meaning that we have to score so from the beginning," Okada told reporters. "We will start the match in order to win - that's all I said to the players today."
    Player Makuto Hasebe agreed it was possibly Japan's most important match.
    "Tomorrow a truly important match awaits us," he said. "We stake our whole lives on this match I believe so we are not looking for a draw we will be winning."
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