Japan v Australia: Cahill tipping tight clash Osaka

Asian powerhouses Japan and Australia will resume hostilities before the AFC Asian Cup when the two teams meet on Tuesday.

Japan and Australia will face off in an international friendly at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka in preparation for January’s 16th edition of the Asian Cup, which will be hosted Down Under.

Javier Aguirre’s Japan will head to Australia as reigning champions after edging the Socceroos 1-0 at the end of extra time four years ago, and with that in mind, Socceroos veteran Tim Cahill believes Tuesday’s friendly fixture could see both teams keep their cards close to their chest with an eye on January’s tournament.

“It’s going to be a tactical battle,” Cahill said, Australia’s all-time leading goalscorer.

“Are Japan going to show all their cards? Are we going to show all our cards? Are they going to do the same set plays as they will in the tournament? I think not.

“The fact is we want to win games, but I really think it’s going to be a tricky game because they’re the favourites, the powers of Asia.

“And they’ve obviously earned the right with winning the last Asian Cup and the way they’re performing and they’ve got great players.

“For us we’ve got to go there and be confident in what we’ve got, the way we play and obviously the players we’ve got and really try and iron out what we can do as a team.”

Japan go into Tuesday’s match on the back of a 6-0 rout of Honduras on Friday, with Takashi Inui on target for the Asian giants in the absence of coach Aguirre, who returned to Mexico to attend a ceremony.

Aguirre is back in camp for the clash in Osaka and the Mexican will oversee first-team responsibilities against Australia, who are still finding their way under Ange Postecoglou.

Since Postecoglou replaced Holger Osieck in October, the Australian boss has won just two games in charge as he attempts to rebuild the national team.

The Socceroos were fortunate to beat Saudi Arabia 3-2 in September and have since drawn 0-0 with the United Arab Emirates and lost to Qatar 1-0 in October, which has resulted them slipping to an all-time low FIFA ranking of 94th.