In their final press conference before leaving for the IFAF World Cup 2011, representatives of Team Japan appeared to be ready to face the challenge ahead of them.
Asked how this Team Japan team is different from previous ones, Head coach Kiyoyuki Mori said, "I think this team is avery good combination of experience players and younger players, Some players, for example (WR) Shoei Hasegawa, he has experience in NFL-Europe and the [2007] World Cup in Kawasaki. (DL) Yamanaka, (LB) Kosho they have good experience so we have a good combination" The youngest player on this year's squad is Waseda RB Tomokazu Sueyoshi; Panasonic Impulse DL Yasuo Wakisaka, at 42, is twice his age. Wakisaka has appeared in all 4 World Cup tournaments. Japan won the first two World Cup tournaments in 1999 and 2003, when the US did not send a team.
Mori also said after the loss in the Notre Dame-Japan Bowl in 2009, they emphasized being more physical, and have gained an average 10 pounds a man, without sacrificing speed.
The USA and Japanese Teams are considered favorites to win their respective Groups.
In the 2007 World Cup championship game held in Japan, the Americans defeated Japan 23-20 in double overtime on a blocked field goal.
The Americans will open the 2011 World Cup on July 8th playing Australia in Innsbruck.
The Japanese Team flies to Austria on Wednesday, and will face host Austria on Saturday the 9th in Group B action in Graz. Both games will be kicking off at 3PM CET (13:00 UTC; 9:00 ET; 22:00 JT).
Germany and Mexico and Canada-France will meet in the evening games starting at 7 PM local time.
Mori was quite impressed by the the Austrian team in their Charity Bowl XIII game against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre-Haute, IN) on June 5th, as they lost 35-34 when their 2-point conversion attempt fell short.
"They are very good team. Very physical. They have improved.
"Offensively, they run a lot of shotgun and pistol formations. Defensively they run a 3-4, many blitzes and combination blitzes."
