Japan to send depleted side to Melbourne

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has promised to field his strongest possible team in
next week's final World Cup qualifier despite confirmation Japan will send a
depleted side to Melbourne.
The match, which is a dead rubber with both sides already qualified for South
Africa, has been billed as the final party to celebrate Australia booking successive
World Cup berths for the first time.
With a capacity crowd expected at the MCG, fans will be disappointed to learn Japan
have confirmed they will send a side missing star Celtic midfielder Shunsuke
Nakamura and four other regulars to Australia.
Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo and Europe-based players Makoto Hasebe, Yoshito
Okubo and Keisuke Honda will also stay at home.
While Endo is injured and Hasebe suspended, the Japan Football Association said the
other players would be rested for "conditioning".
Quizzed about a weakened visiting side, Verbeek would not pass judgment, but said it
would have no bearing on his selections.
"That's up to (Japan coach Takeshi) Okada," Verbeek said of the weakened squad.
"But I'm going there (to Melbourne) and bringing my best players.
"We have 100,000 people who want to see the best available players and they will get
to see the best available players."
Verbeek said the Socceroos were also still determined to finish on top of their
qualification group, despite the finishing positions meaning nothing heading into
the World Cup.
Australia currently sit on 17 points, two ahead of Japan, and need only a draw to
seal first spot in Group A after the Blue Samurai were held 1-1 by Qatar in Yokohama
on Wednesday.
"We want to be number one in the group and we're going to give everything we have to
win that game," Verbeek said.
While Verbeek made seven changes to his team for Wednesday night's 2-0 win over
Bahrain at ANZ Stadium, he is set to welcome back a host of stars in Melbourne.
The Dutchman said players including Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy should be fit to
return from injury after opting not to risk them against Bahrain.
Skipper Lucas Neill will return from suspension while Vince Grella should come back
into the starting line-up after coming off the bench in Sydney.
Mark Bresciano and Scott Chipperfield are also available to return but they could be
overlooked after Verbeek said he might not risk players who were one yellow card
away from suspension.
David Carney, Chris Coyne, Brett Holman and Mile Jedinak are also sitting on
yellows, with suspensions carrying through to the first game of the World Cup.
"I think it would be very naive to use players who have a yellow card," Verbeek said.
The Socceroos' win over Bahrain on Wednesday night was far from convincing but
stand-in captain Mark Schwarzer said it illustrated how much depth Australia had
heading into the World Cup.
"Even with the changes that we made, we showed that everybody in this squad is 100
per cent committed," Schwarzer said.
Japan Squad
Goalkeepers: Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus), Ryota Tsuzuki (Urawa Red Diamonds),
Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)
Defenders: Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama Marinos), Satoshi Yamaguchi (Gamba Osaka), Marcus
Tulio Tanaka (Urawa), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuto
Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Tomoaki Makino (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima
Antlers)
Midfielders: Hideo Hashimoto (Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), Daisuke
Matsui (Saint-Etienne), Yuki Abe (Urawa), Naoki Yamada (Urawa)
Forwards: Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus), Kisho Yano (Albirex Niigata), Shinji
Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shinzo Koroki (Kashima)