Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Thursday sought to play down the significance of his team's last World Cup warmup against Cote d'Ivoire and said his players would not be going beyond the call of duty and risking injury on the eve of their departure for the finals.
Okada has arranged for an extra 45 minutes against the Africans after Friday's match in Sion so he can cast an eye over the entire squad in what will serve as a test run for Japan's World Cup opener against Cameroon in Bloemfontein on June 14.
Japan, which also faces the Netherlands and Denmark in a tricky Group E in South Africa, has lost four of its last five games, the latest a 2-1 reverse against England, and is badly in need of a positive result before leaving for South Africa on Saturday.