Japan will launch a four-game international campaign Sunday against France in the opener of the King Hassan II Cup in Casablanca, Morocco. More than victories or losses, however, the upcoming contests should determine the fate of Japan manager Philippe Troussier, who has been on the verge of dismissal.

The Japan Football Association will decide whether to keep the Frenchman on the job after June by evaluating Troussier and the team's performance through these four matches in two international tournaments.

After meeting France, Japan will play either Morocco or Jamaica depending on the results of Sunday's games in Casablanca. Japan will then face Slovakia on June 11 (in Sendai) and Bolivia on June 18 (in Yokohama) in the Kirin Cup at home.

But Troussier, 45, claimed last month that his contract has automatically been extended until the end of October after helping Japan qualifying for the Sydney Olympics and Asian Cup. Thus, he is treating these four upcoming matches as a part of his team's normal preparation for the Summer Games in September and the Asian Cup in October.

"I'll assess our players through the four matches and want to find out which part of our game needs to be improved. These games are a part of our preparations for the Olympics and the Asian Cup," Troussier commented. "I'm convinced that we can win a medal at the Olympics and bring the Asian Cup home."

By staying together for 10 days in Morocco, Troussier said he expects the Japanese players to improve what they've worked on as a unit and strengthen their relationship as a team -- the way Japan's silver-medal-winning youth team did prior to the World Youth Championship last spring.

Before heading to Nigeria for the tournament in April of 1999, Troussier took his young team to Burkina Faso for a training camp, where the players took part in some social activities like visiting an orphanage.

Troussier said, "The World Youth team grew up and gained confidence through its experience in Burkina Faso. I'm expecting a similar effect on the senior team from this Moroccan tour and hope this will help our players become more capable of expressing their abilities during games with ease."

Japan's senior team showed signs of improvement in its last two matches, against China in March and South Korea in April. Troussier said he wants the team to work with greater harmony.

A few hours prior to departing for Morocco, the Japanese team, with the exception of AS Roma midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and Valladolid striker Shoji Jo, who joined their teammates in Rabat, trained for 2 1/2 hours at a Kashima ground on Tuesday.

France is in the final stage of preparing for Euro 2000, which begins on June 10. The French side will feature World Cup winning members like Juventus midfielder Zidedine Zidane and striker Thierry Henry and midfielder Emmanuel Petit of Arsenal.