World Cup: Japan to turn up the heat on Australia

Asian Japan claim that the sweltering weather, which made England struggle to a scrappy 1-0 World Cup win over Paraguay, would benefit his players when they take on Australia today.

"Well, it was much more terrible during the Asian Cup," Japan coach Zico, a 53-year-old from Brazil, laughed when asked about the heat which has been gripping Germany after the World Cup got underway on Friday.

Japan the continental title in China in the summer of 2004, when the mercury soared past 30?C with 90-percent humidity and the "Blue Samurai" squad was also feeling the heat from a hostile home support.

The temperature has threatened to reach 30?C during weekend workouts here and it is expected to top that level when Japan clash with Australia in their all-important mid-afternoon World Cup opener in the basin of Kaiserslautern.

"I don't see any problem about the heat because we have ample stamina," Japan captain and central defender Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, 29, said after their final training in Bonn on Saturday afternoon before they flew out to the match venue.

Japan shrugged off the heat to whip Bahrain 1-0 away in the middle of the Asian qualifying round a year ago.

Moreover, Japan's domestic J-League season reaches its halfway point in the heat of the summer when European clubs, to which many of the Socceroos belong, remain idle.

"It doesn't matter at all if it's hot," said Japan ace striker Naohiro Takahara, who scored twice in the spirited 2-2 warm-up draw against Germany two weeks ago and will move from Hamburg from another Bundesliga side Frankfurt after the Cup.