After gearing up for their World Cup qualification campaign last month with an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Chile and a slightly improved performance in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina four days later, Japan set their sights on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa when they take on Thailand in their opening qualifier at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday.

Coach Takeshi Okada - who is currently in his second spell in charge of the Blue Samurai, has set his sights ambitiously high, claiming that "(i)n 2002, South Korea came in fourth. This team can do better."

The former championship winning coach with Yokohama F. Marinos surely has more immediate concerns. He's been in charge for just under three months, after a severe stroke forced former coach Ivica Osim out of the job. Bereft of the time to make sweeping changes, Okada has retained most of the players from a squad that crashed out of the 2007 Asian Cup at the semi-final stage.

A quick check of a group that also contains Thailand, Oman and Bahrain suggests that Japan should finish in the top two and progress to the next qualification round. Yet things might not be so simple. Thailand were impressive at the 2007 Asian Cup, holding eventual champions Iraq to a 1-1 draw, beating World Cup opponents Oman 2-0 and conceding three goals in the final ten minutes as they ultimately succumbed 4-0 to Australia.

At least the icy weather currently gripping the Kanto region will make things difficult for Thailand, who might struggle to come to terms with a slippery surface and a hostile atmosphere at Saitama Stadium. Yet with Japan currently struggling up front, the clash with Thailand could be decided by a solitary strike.

The Thailand encounter will likely set the tone for the rest of Japan's qualification campaign. One or two players would do well to take any opportunities that come their way by the scruff of the neck - Vissel Kobe's Yoshito Okubo and Yokohama F. Marinos star Koji Yamase were both criminally overlooked by Ivica Osim, whilst the likes of Yosuke Kashiwagi, Yuzo Tashiro and more obviously Atsuto Uchida may also get their chance. Japan will want to start on the front foot though, with difficult looking trips to Al Manamah, Muscat and Bangkok on the horizon.

Japan's 2010 World Cup qualification campaign is as follows;

February 2: Japan vs Thailand (Saitama Stadium)

March 26 : Bahrain vs Japan

June 2 : Japan vs Oman (Yokohama International Stadium)

June 7 : Oman vs Japan

June 14: Thailand vs Japan

June 22 : Japan vs Thailand (Saitama Stadium)