Yasuhiko Okudera became Japan's first-ever professional footballer when he played in the Bundesliga in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Today he is general manager of Yokohama FC in the Japanese second division, a role he combines with television work and running his own football academy. He chats here to FIFAworldcup.com about Japan's traumatic defeat by Australia and his hopes for Sunday's meeting with Croatia.

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FIFAworldcup.com: The outcome of the Australia match was extremely disappointing for Japan. What were your impressions?
Yasuhiko Okudera: There's no denying it was a shock. Japan did very well for 80 minutes. There were one or two tricky moments, but they fought magnificently. Still, the last ten minutes is the most crucial period of the whole game. The Australians were attacking so powerfully and it must have been pretty tough to cope with, but Japan under Zico have battled through similar gruelling experiences in the past, and that made their failure to hold on for the win this time doubly disappointing. I'm sure the debilitating heat out on the pitch was a factor, but then that's the same for both teams, isn't it?

What made the telling difference between the teams, then? Was it the substitutions?
I think so. (Tim) Cahill came on in the second half for Australia and scored twice. The Australians piled on the pressure, throwing extra men forward. Hiddink was going all-out for that equaliser and his tactics paid dividends in the end. As for Zico, well, the aim in bringing (Shinji) Ono on would have been to shore up the defence and hold out for a 1-0 win, while maybe sneaking a second goal if the opportunity presented itself. But the result speaks for itself: Hiddink's strategy worked. That said, the most conclusive factor from Japan's point of view may have been the loss of (Keisuke) Tsuboi through injury. He had done really well until then, performing well in the air as well. It was very disappointing to see him coming off.

Looking ahead to the Croatia game, what would you say Japan need to work on?
Not a great deal, in my opinion. Japan ended up losing out to a late comeback, but for 70-80 minutes they weren't doing badly in defence or in any other department. (Hidetoshi) Nakata and (Shunsuke) Nakamura were holding their own in midfield and, even though Japan spent a long time on the back foot, they produced some good moves going forward. (Naohiro) Takahara didn't have a bad game, either. Obviously Japan now have their backs to the wall, but for the Croatia game they should just aim to stay focused and play to their own proven strengths.

Germany is like a home from home for you. What's struck you about Germany 2006 so far?
Well, for one thing the supposedly weaker teams have been performing outstandingly. With the finals being held in Germany, the leading European teams seem to be in excellent shape. All the players have had plenty of time to rest before the big event. I think the top seeds will prevail in the end, but the less fancied teams like Trinidad and Tobago are putting on a great show. For me, the most memorable editions of the FIFA World Cup were those when stars like Pele and Diego Maradona shone. I'm really hoping that a new star will be born at Germany 2006.