Japan to play friendly against Iceland

Japan will kick off their 2012 campaign with a friendly against Iceland in Osaka on February 24.

The fixture had been requested by Alberto Zaccheroni as a way to raise the quality of his reserve players.

At the time, JFA officials had claimed that Zaccheroni requested a West Asian opponent in order to prepare his players for the rigours they will face in the final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Instead they will take on Iceland, who are ranked 104th in FIFA’s world rankings.

A training camp of domestically-based players is expected to open on February 20, with European-based players arriving soon after.

Japan will face Uzbekistan five days after the friendly in Nagoya.

The Uzbeks lead Group C with 13 points to Japan’s 10 and, like Zaccheroni’s men, have already advanced to the next round of qualifying.

Japan and Iceland last met in a 2004 friendly in Manchester.

Iceland’s Heidar Helguson and Japan’s Tatsuhiko Kubo both scored twice before Alessandro Santos converted what would become the game-winning penalty for Japan.