- Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Japan set up friendly in World Cup build-up
- Date: 10th June 2010
- Summary: GEORGE, SOUTH AFRICA (JUNE 9, 2010) (REUTERS) JAPAN'S NATIONAL TEAM JOGGING ON RAINY PITCH CLOUDS AND MIST COVERING GEORGE TEAM WARMING UP MORE OF TEAM ON PITCH FOR TRAINING SESSION PLAYERS TRAINING ON WET PITCH JAPANESE FLAG ON STADIUM STANDS FLUTTERING IN THE WIND MORE OF PLAYERS PLAYING IN RAIN POLICE STANDING IN SHELTER WATCHING TRAINING COACH TAKESHI OKADA STANDING BESIDE TAKAYUKI MORIMOTO AND GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAYERS VARIOUS OF PLAYERS SHOOTING FOR GOALS PLAYER FALLING ON WET PITCH BANNER AT STADIUM PLAYER SCORING GOAL JAPAN MIDFIELDER KEISUKE HONDA PASSING BALL HONDA ENTERING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MIDFIELDER KEISUKE HONDA, SAYING: "I'm preparing well and I just want to be in the best condition I can be, I want to peak at the match." HONDA IN TACKLE AND PASSING BALL DURING TRAINING SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MIDFIELDER KEISUKE HONDA, SAYING: "I don't know what my position will be yet, the roles might change, but either way I will go for goals." REPORTERS GATHERED AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) DEFENDER YUJI NAKAZAWA, SAYING: "It's a friendly match so I'll not be playing 90 minutes. Within the time I have I will play the best I can. We have many tasks to work on at the moment and hopefully we can solve them." PLAYER SCORING GOAL DURING TRAINING SESSION
- Embargoed: 25th June 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: South Africa
- Country: South Africa
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA6TNYF6PSB1DQU0BBSG80HTQZB
- Story Text: Japan's national team battled the elements on Wednesday (June 9) as their training camp in George, South Africa was drenched in heavy rains.
Japan are coming into the tournament on the back of a four-match losing streak and midfielder Keisuke Honda said he will give his all when they play Cameroon on Monday (June 14).
"I'm preparing well and I just want to be in the best condition I can be, I want to peak at the match," Honda told reporters.
"I don't know what my position will be yet, the roles might change, but either way I will go for goals," he added.
The struggling squad, known as the Blue Samurai, are looking for a much needed confidence boost and have arranged a pre-tournament friendly against Mozambique for Thursday (June 10).
"It's a friendly match so I'll not be playing 90 minutes. Within the time I have I will play the best I can. We have many tasks to work on at the moment and hopefully we can solve them," said defender Yuji Nakazawa.
The match against Mozambique will be held at the Japanese training ground in George, on South Africa's scenic Garden route.
Japan, who also play the Netherlands and Denmark in Group E, have lost successive matches to Serbia, South Korea, England and Ivory Coast.
The World Cup kicks off on June 11. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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