Okada seeks Wenger advice on Cameroon

Japan coach Takeshi Okada says he has been tipped off by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger that World Cup opponents Cameroon may make the most of their height advantage.

The smaller Blue Samurai open their World Cup account against Cameroon on June 14 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

“I’d better let my players eat a lot and grow taller as countermeasures,” Okada quipped, saying the Indomitable Lions could take advantage of their size.

“Cameroon usually play passing football but they may possibly hit our weak point by kicking long balls,” he told Japanese media after returning from Europe where he met Japanese players and foreign coaches.

Okada said he got the hint when he had dinner with Wenger in London last week and sought his advice about fellow Frenchman and Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen.

“I asked him if Le Guen is an idealist or realist. Is he a person who follows his ideal or takes a realistic approach by adjusting to opponents?” Okada said. Wenger called Le Guen a realist.

Le Guen was reported to have closely consulted Wenger before becoming manager of the Scottish side Rangers in 2006.

Cameroon, the four-time African champions, are known for passing football as well as long-ball attacks in the final minutes led by lanky striker Mohammadou Idrissou of Freiburg.

Okada, who has insisted on aiming for a semi-final spot despite being called unrealistic, plans to announce his 23-strong World Cup squad on May 10.

It is widely seen hard for Japan, famous for their well-organised play but short on firepower, to survive the group stage in which the former Asian champions also face the Netherlands and Denmark.

Japan Football Association chief Motoaki Inukai has kept faith with Okada despite the team finishing third behind China and South Korea in the East Asian championships at home in February.

They were also crushed 3-0 by a second-string Serbia in a home friendly this month.

In Europe, Okada met with three Japanese midfieders — CSKA Moscow rookie Keisuke Honda, Makoto Hasebe of Wolfsburg and Grenoble’s Daisuke Matsui.

“They were all in fine shape and I felt secure,” said Okada, who has already vowed take them to South Africa.

“Honda played a central role in the team. He is really dependable.”

The 23-year-old Honda has emerged from former Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura’s shadow as Japan’s key playmaker and helped the Moscow side to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in which they lost to Inter Milan.

Japan will play Asian arch-rivals South Korea in a warm-up match on May 24 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, before moving to the Swiss highlands for training to acclimatise themselves for World Cup matches at high altitudes.