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Vahid Halilhodzic is in danger of losing his job should Japan lose to Australia, so why should the Socceroos feel like the pressure is on them at Saitama Stadium?
The walk from Urawa-Misono Station to Saitama Stadium is relatively short and largely non-descript, radiating out from the sort of transport hub typical of the satellite towns that dot the outskirts of Tokyo.
The area used to be mostly farmland, and Saitama Stadium 2002 – to give it its full name – sits incongruously atop a verdant landscape once dominated by rice paddies.
The numeral in the stadium’s name is a reminder that on-field success is a relatively new phenomenon for Japan’s national team, with the 2002 FIFA World Cup – for which Saitama Stadium was built – one of the high points in the recent history of the Samurai Blue.
It’s unlikely Halilhodzic’s team will ever scale any great heights, which is why their third round 2018 World Cup qualification record to date won’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of Ange Postecoglou and his team.
Starting with a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of the United Arab Emirates – in front of a stunned Saitama Stadium crowd – Japan drew 1-1 with the Socceroos in Melbourne and most recently were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Iraq in neutral Tehran.
In between there was time for a similarly insipid 1-1 draw with Syria in a friendly in Tokyo, with Halilhodzic’s side continuing to scratch around to find any semblance of form.
And having seen the squad Halilhodzic has opted to send out the Socceroos, there’s no real reason to fear the hosts.
There’s firepower, of course, and the likes of Yuya Osako and Yosuke Ideguchi could cause more headaches for the Socceroos’ back three than some of the names more familiar to Australian fans.
There’s also a familiar face in the form of one-time Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder Yojiro Takahagi, while English Premier League fans have seen Shinji Okazaki put away plenty of goals for Leicester City over the past couple of seasons.
But in captain Keisuke Honda and playmaker Shinji Kagawa, Japan possess two of the biggest names in Asian football – and they seem to be posing more questions than answers these days.
Honda’s goal on debut for Mexican club Pachuca last week was a reminder of the potency and power of one of Japanese football’s most talismanic players.
But how much will all the fanfare in central Mexico – not to mention the travel to and fro – have taken out of him? And why is he playing Liga MX anyway?
Kagawa, meanwhile, remains a peripheral figure at Borussia Dortmund, and both he and national teammate Genki Haraguchi came off the bench to face each other in the Bundesliga over the weekend.
That’s not to imply that Japan don’t have the means to hurt the Socceroos, nor is there any reason for Postecoglou’s players to be complacent.
But we have a tendency to sometimes overstate the ability and influence of Japanese players, and realistically there’s more pressure on them than the Socceroos to register a win in Saitama.
Part of the problem is Halilhodzic – no doubt a decent coach, but one who relies on the assistance of his Japanese support staff for various linguistic and cultural reasons.
You can’t help but think Japan would be better served with a Japanese coach at the helm – ask Graham Arnold about all the ways instructions can be interpreted – and should the Samurai Blue succumb to another defeat at Saitama Stadium, it may spell the end of Halilhodzic’s largely forgettable reign.
Whatever happens in Saitama, the Socceroos can rest assured that they will run out in front of one of the loudest crowds they will encounter all year.
It’s hot here too – I’m writing this from Osaka – and while the temperatures will have cooled come kick-off on Thursday night, it’s nothing compared to the white-hot focus starting to bear down on Halilhodzic and his misfiring Japanese side.