Hasebe eyes second round

Japan captain Makoto Hasebe says coach Takeshi Okada has urged his players to put everything on the line in Thursday’s World Cup showdown with Denmark.

The winners in Rustenburg are guaranteed to join Netherlands in the second round from Group E, while a draw would send Japan through to a second appearance in the knockout stage due to a superior goal difference.

Okada, who took charge of Japan’s pointless 1998 World Cup debut, has already described the opportunity to reach the knockout for a first time on foreign soil as the “chance of a lifetime”.

“The coach has told us that in life you only get a few opportunities to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup and told us to give it our all,” Hasebe said.

Despite a disciplined display, Japan lost 1-0 to Netherlands on Saturday as the Dutch secured a place in the second round, while Denmark beat Cameroon 2-1 to eliminate the Africans and set up Thursday’s decider with both sides sitting on three points from two games.

“We are all really disappointed about losing to the Netherlands, but the Denmark result is not a bad one for us and we will head into the game in a positive frame of mind,” Hasebe said.