Japan Football Association President Junji Ogura on Monday said he was hopeful of finding the new manager of the national team in time for the September rematch with Paraguay.
The JFA had said it has a shortlist of three to succeed World Cup coach Takeshi Okada — none of who have officially been named — and was hoping to sign one of them by Aug. 15.
But the JFA has yet to receive good word from technical director Hiromi Hara, who is handling the negotiations with the candidates. The candidates are all foreigners.
The highly anticipated friendly with Paraguay, which eliminated Japan on penalties in the second round of this summer's World Cup, is on Sept. 4 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.