Sunday, May 30, 2010

England vs Japan Time and Live Score: Friendly 2010

England and Japan are all set to face each other today (May 30) in Graz, Austria in a friendly match. Going into the match, the two World Cup-bound teams have different objectives in mind.

English players are determined to give their best against Japan in their pursuit of cinching a place in the final World Cup squad that Coach Capello would announce on 1 May. Japanese players, on the contrary, would look to improve on their recent poor form, and thus, boosting their confidence before catching the flight to South Africa.

Time

The match kicks off at 12:15 GMT. According to British Summer Time (BST), the match begins at 13:15. In Japan, football fans can watch the match on television from 21:15. In India, the match starts at 17:45.

Live Score

To get the live score of the match, visit the following address:

http://livescore.com/soccer/intl/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/default.stm

Fabio Capello announced the starting line up and 7 substitutes for the Japan friendly yesterday. His selection of starting eleven gives a hint of his final 23. The inclusion of Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent indicates that the coach is keen to have a final look on the two players. So, both the players could strengthen their claim for a place in the 23-man squad with a solid performance against Japan.

Another surprise in the starting eleven is the presence of both Walcott and Lennon as both of them usually play on the right wing. So, it seems that Capello want to test Lennon on the left wing, while Walcott would continue his job on the right wing.

Chelsea’s FA Cup winning players, except Joe Cole, have returned to the first eleven for the Japan match. Cole has been included among the reserve players. Bent would partner Rooney in the up front in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, while defense is very strong with Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Terry and Ferdinand all starting against the Asian side. Capello has rested Frank Lampard for the match.

Japan would miss the service of Shunsuke Nakamura who is recovering from his injury. In his absence, CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda would have to play the creative role in the midfield. Following their poor performance against Serbia and South Korea, Japan is now under huge pressure. So, only an inspirational performance against the Three Lions could boost up their World Cup preparations.

In the defense, Tanaka, Nakazawa and Nagatomo may face fierce challenge from the likes of Rooney, Bent and Lampard. The match would also help Capello decide how he would deploy Lampard and Gerrard together in the England midfield.

Anything less than a dominating victory for England would disappoint the English fans, while Japanese fans want their players to show that they have what it takes to make it to the last four in World Cup finals, a target coach Takeshi Okada is confident to achieve.

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