Underdogs Japan land in their World Cup base camp of George on Sunday in an optimistic mood despite four straight international defeats in the run-up to the big tournament.

"You may think we're going to lose three straight (group) matches, don't you?," Japan and CSKA Moscow rising star Keisuke Honda asked Japanese media before the squad left their Swiss Alpine training camp of Saas-Fee.

"If we play bearing in mind we have nothing to lose, it would do us good," added Honda, who turns 24 on the eve of Japan's Group E opener against Cameroon on June 14 in Bloemfontein, followed by clashes with the Netherlands and Denmark.

The former Asian champions lost 2-0 in a warm-up against Ivory Coast in Sion on Friday.

They had earlier lost 3-0 to a third-string Serbia and South Korea 2-0, both at home, and 2-1 to England a week ago in Graz, Austria.

"We could have matched ourselves against weaker opponents but we needed to play strong teams," Japan coach Takeshi Okada said in Saas-Fee about the last two games.

The Blue Samurai bared their perennial lack of firepower while keeping up a solid defence despite conceding three own goals, two of them through Brazilian-born centre back Marcus Tulio Tanaka, against the powerhouses.

"The players may have some fear but after being pushed into a tight corner, they'd rather fire up," said 53-year-old Okada.

The popular Western Cape resort of George has been picked by Japan for several reasons, including a good-luck factor.

Japanese star Ai Miyazato won the inaugural women's golf World Cup there in 2005 in partnership with Rui Kitada.

The friendly results further discredited Okada's highly ambitious but widely ridiculed goal of reaching the semi-finals in South Africa in what will be Japan's fourth straight World Cup appearance.

Okada guided Japan to a winless World Cup debut at France 1998 in his first job as national coach. French disciplinarian Philippe Troussier coached them to a last-16 spot in the 2002 edition co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.

But they made an early exit in Germany four years ago under Brazilian legend Zico when they were crushed by Brazil and Australia and drew with Croatia.

So a pressing task for Okada's Japan, known for their well organised midfield, is to score a World Cup win for the first time abroad.

"Even if we defend tightly, it won't give us a thrust," Okada said.

"What we should do is unchanged but it has become clearer still. It is important to pass the ball around but we also need players to charge forward."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP