National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic last week bridled at suggestions that he is making excuses for Japan's underwhelming start to the final round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers. But there will be no place to hide if the Samurai Blue slip further off the pace after games against Iraq and Australia over the coming week.

Japan began its bid to reach a sixth straight World Cup last month with a 2-1 home defeat to the United Arab Emirates, before preventing a descent into all-out catastrophe with a 2-0 away win over Thailand five days later.

With only two games gone, Japan already has little margin for error. Group rivals Australia and Saudi Arabia have both made perfect starts while the UAE looks like a genuine qualification contender, and anything less than four points from the coming two fixtures — starting at home against Iraq on Thursday — would constitute a major setback.