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Japan is confident it can reach final
KASHIMA, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan, basking in the glory of holding mighty Brazil to a 0-0 draw on Monday, are confident they can reach Sunday's Confederations Cup final. "We can do it. We have a great advantage playing at home in Yokohama," Japan's French coach Philippe Troussier said after his side clinched top spot in Group B of their World Cup warm-up tournament. The Japanese, unbeaten in their three group matches, meet Group A runners-up Australia in their semifinal in Yokohama on Thursday. "Can we dance now?" a delighted Troussier said as he stepped in for a news conference after Japan's match with four times World Cup winners Brazil. "It is a great achievement to be first in the table especially as it was not an easy group," said Troussier after his side finished ahead of Brazil, Cameroon and Canada. "It is also a great achievement for Japanese football and gives us confidence for the future." Troussier said his side had enjoyed a good week after two wins and a draw. He was wary, however, of the dangers against Australia, who qualified after upsetting France 1-0 in their second match. "Psychologically ... if we were to play France, we would have nothing to lose. Against Australia, we have everything to lose," he said. The French, who topped their group after beating co-hosts South Korea 5-0 and Mexico 4-0 in their first and third games respectively, meet Brazil in the other semifinal in the South Korean city of Suwon. Hidetoshi Nakata was the driving force behind Japan's excellent performance but doubts remain about his availability for the rest of the tournament. Under FIFA rules, Troussier is entitled to demand he plays for his country in both the semifinal and final if Japan get that far. But the player, who was expected to return to Italy for AS Roma's final match of the season when they can clinch the Serie A title, was fudging the issue. "I will be in Italy on Sunday," he said afterwards, "but I know Mr Troussier wants me to be here. We still have to talk about it, but I think I will be back in Italy." Brazil's coach Emerson Leao tried to put on a brave face, saying that the fans had been rewarded with a France-Brazil match-up in the semifinal. It will hardly be a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final in which France beat Brazil 3-0 as the Brazilians have so many top players absent. But it still pits the teams currently ranked first (France) and second (Brazil) in FIFA's world rankings against each other. "Before the tournament, everybody wanted to see Brazil against Cameroon. Now everybody wants to see Brazil-France. They will get that," Leao said. He stressed that while Brazil had been held to a draw by an unimpressive Canada the Selecao were still unbeaten. "France has an interesting team. They have both won and lost... Anything can happen against France," he said.
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