FIFA World Cup 2010 preview Grup E : Cameroon Vs Japan

Aurélien Chedjou, Cameroons 24-year old from Douala

Luvei Times News

Shunsuke Nakamura says his team is physically small so they must deal with the others by being better organised. The former Celtic play-maker and his Japanese team have been drawn in Group E alongside Denmark, the Netherlands and Cameroon.

It’s the Africans they play first in the city of Bloemfontein on June 14th. This will be Japan’s fourth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals and coach Takeshi Okada, back in the role for a second time, having lead his nation to France 98, is heavily reliant on Nakamura for creativity in the centre of the field.

The thirty-one year old, who is back playing his football in the J-league in his hometown of Yokohama, after a stint in La Liga at Espanyol, thinks hard work and plenty of momentum will be the key to unlocking both Cameroon and Holland. Renowned for his near-perfect long passes and his prowess from dead-ball situations, Nakamura played an integral part in the Japanese 2006 World Cup campaign in Germany, having been controversially left out of his national squad for the 2002 event held in Japan.

Aurélien Chedjou will line up against Nakamura for that opening game and the Cameroon star believes it’s a match his team “can’t lose.” Chedjou, who plays his domestic football in the French Ligue for Lille, says defeat in the first group match leaves you in a difficult situation for the rest of the tournament. The 24-year old from Douala shared strong opinions on the other teams he must face as well. “We mustn’t look down on them, you know, saying, it’s only Denmark, no one knows them, it’s in the bag. If we want to win, then we have to fight for it.”

The most successful World Cup participating African nation, Cameroon has appeared five times in the FIFA tournament finals most notably reaching the quarter finals at Italia 90. Now, under the guidance of 45-year old French coach Paul Le Guen, Chedjou says: “every team has its weakness and it is up to us to find out what the Netherlands’ is.”

Asked about home advantage, the midfielder admits his side will benefit from African crowds but points out that no supporter ever scored a goal so his side must prove themselves on the pitch. “We’re not going to change our playing style just to play against Japan, or Brazil, or Germany, or whoever.”