Japan national team manager Takeshi Okada will be aware his seat at Friday's World Cup final Asian qualifying round draw in Kuala Lumpur has not come easy, but he will not be the only man in the room irked by such thoughts.
Japan secured progress to the final phase with a 3-0 win against Thailand in its penultimate game, before clinching first place in the group with a last-minute goal against Bahrain earlier this week.
But qualification has been far from straightforward.