Keiji Tamada may not have scored for Japan for nearly a year and a half but the fleet-footed striker says he is "totally confident" he can end his drought and be in Japan's final squad for next month's World Cup finals.
Japan striker Keiji Tamada heads the ball during the nationa team's practice on Thursday.
One of the heroes of Japan's 2004 Asian Cup triumph in China, Tamada has endured a frustrating season in the J. League at Nagoya Grampus Eight, scoring just once from the penalty spot in 11 appearances this term.
But the 26-year-old went some way to repaying the faith shown in him by Japan coach Zico with a solid performance in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to Bulgaria and put himself back in the frame for a place in the World Cup squad to be named on Monday.