Japan versus Hong Kong

If history is any indication, then Japan will rout Hong Kong tomorrow in both countries second of 3 matches in the East Asian Football Championship. In 2009, the nations played each twice and Japan outscored them in an aggregate of 10-0. All things the same, a 5-0 victory for Japan would seemingly be the expected outcome.

The Japanese media, the president of the JFA, and some players have been highly critical of Takeshi Okada and the national team after the two latest results against Venezuela and China yielding zero goals. the JFA president has encouraged fans to "boo the team" while perennial midfield icon Yasuhito Endo has called for "change" and noted a lack of confidence from the players.

While a 0-0 draw for Japan against China in the first match of the Championship disappointed many, the reigning champions, South Korea, were absolutely stunned by a 3-0 loss to China yesterday afternoon. Highlights from that match can be seen here. Watch out for the third goal China scores, its pure class.

By drawing the Japanese, and defeating the Koreans, China has taken an unexpected pole position in the tournament. The breakdown follows:

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
China PR	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3	4
Korea Republic	2	1	0	1	5	3	+2	3
Japan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Hong Kong	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0

The Samurai Blue are by no means out of contention, as a big win over Hong Kong could easily put them in a deadlock with China going into the final match.

As for the player lineup, conventional thinking would be that Okada would field a B team against the weakest opponent in order to keep his A team fresh for the last match against Korea, and Endo's comments would seem to indicate same. However, Okada stated earlier that in light of recent disappointments, the management would not take risks and underestimate Hong Kong. If there is any player that I expect to see suited up for the match, it would be Mitsuo Ogasawara, as his return to the team for Venezuela generated good attacking chances that were when he was absent against China. I expect a 3-0 win for Japan, but think that the media scrutiny would continue unless they score at least 4.

What do you think? What do you predict the score to be, and how many must Japan score in order to regain their mojo and get the media monkeys off their backs? Post your predictions below.