Japan coach Takeshi Okada is confident his players can do the job on Saturday as they seek to avenge a loss to Bahrain.The Gulf side claimed a 1-0 win over the Japanese at the National Stadium six months ago although the result did not prevent both teams from advancing to the final round of the Asian qualifiers, where they have been drawn together once again in Group One.
Okada admitted that the loss in March was a regrettable result but pledged to make no major changes to his team's style.
"Bahrain know how we play," said the Japan coach. "They have played with more or less the same players for a long time and have improved their standard, with good collective play in defence and attack.
"But I believe we can stick to our own style and cope with them. We want to play to our full potential and show what we can do on Saturday."
Saturday's match could mark the first international appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Junichi Inamoto since a 4-3 win over Switzerland a year ago.
The former Fulham player has been training with the team in Manama since Tuesday with three other Europe-based players - Shunsuke Nakamura of Celtic, Daisuke Matsui of St Etienne and Makoto Hasebe of Wolfsburg.
Despite the victory against Japan in March, Bahrain coach Milan Macala believes that his side will still be the underdogs on Saturday.
"Of course, Japan must beat us," said the Czech. "We are a small country among the best 10 teams in Asia and our opponents are a strong team, number one in Asia.
"But I always try to take three points whenever I play. I know that we are not the favourites but we can try and with good concentration and preparation, we can take on any team including Japan."
Bahrain are missing midfielder Abdulla Baba Fatadi who is serving a three-game suspension after being sent-off against Thailand in a World Cup qualifier in June.
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