National team coach Takeshi Okada insisted Japan's bold target of making the semifinals of next year's World Cup in South Africa remains unchanged after the Blue Samurai were drawn against the Netherlands, Cameroon and Denmark in first-round Group E in Friday's draw in Cape Town.
The three-time Asian champions, who have never made it past the second round of the finals in three attempts, will kick off their campaign against Cameroon on June 14 in Bloemfontein and then face the Netherlands on June 19 in Durban. Okada's men wrap up the group stage against Denmark on June 24 in Rustenburg.
"All of our opponents are a bit stronger than us but are in a range we can deal with." said Okada. "We are aiming for a place in the semifinals and don't intend to change that."
"It's never easy whoever you play. This might sound strange but I don't think it's a bad group to be in. We are not up against teams that we have absolutely no chance of beating," added the 53-year-old.