Position: Defender
Born: 25.02.78
Club: Yokohama F. Marinos

Centre-back Yuji Nakazawa formed a formidable defensive partnership with Tsuneyasu Miyamoto during the qualification campaign and providing he stays fit, he will almost certainly be in Zico's starting XI in Germany.

The 28-year-old was named J-League Player of the Year two years ago and is highly respected in Asia.

He did not feature at last summer's Confederations Cup due to the recurrence of an arthritic knee problem but has featured consistently for his club side this season.

A lack of height remains a problem in the Japanese rearguard, with Nakazawa standing tallest at 6ft 1in. Although his positional awareness is impressive, he will need to have his wits about him if he is to help repel Brazil, Australia and Croatia in Group F.

Like most Japanese players, Nakazawa has an unusual nickname. 'Bomberhead' may suggest he poses some sort of security threat but instead it is apparently a reference to a previous haircut involving plentiful dreadlocks.