Southampton central defender Maya Yoshida admits he is excited by the prospect of Japan playing England in the second round of the World Cup finals, but reckons Roy Hodgson's men could find it difficult to progress from the group phase.
Japan has been drawn in Group C against Cote d'Ivoire, Greece and Colombia. The winners and runnersup of that group play the second and first-place teams, respectively, from England's Group E, which also features Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica.
Japan was overpowered 4-2 by Uruguay in a friendly in Miyagi last August, a couple of months after it lost 4-3 to Italy at the Confederations Cup. The Asian champions have not played England since 2010, when they lost 2-1 in a friendly just before the South Africa World Cup.