Over the initial shock of a 2-1 opening World Cup defeat to Cote d'Ivoire, Japan's Samurai Blue have taken stock, chilled out and even been cracking jokes and laughing it off during a Jacuzzi bonding session.
Now Alberto Zaccheroni's Asian champions are ready to go for broke against Greece on Thursday. A win for both teams is vital to their chances of progressing to the knockout stage, a feat only a handful of teams have managed after dropping their first game under the current tournament format.
"The mood in the team isn't bad. There is no need to be down in the dumps," striker Yoshito Okubo told Kyodo News on Tuesday at the team's training camp in Itu.