Nakata will be Japan's key player (Allsport).

Position: Midfield
Born: 22.01.77
Club: Parma

Hidetoshi Nakata represented his country in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, when his country went on to win gold by beating Brazil 1-0 in the final, with Nakata part of the team.

The most high-profile player ever to come out of Japan, Nakata was also named Asian Player of the Year of 1998 while with Japanese J League side Bellmare Hiratsuka – only the second Japanese to win the coveted award.

Nakata made his Japanese debut against South Korea in a friendly in Tokyo in May '97.

But he really hit the headlines in 1998 when he moved to Perugia, and in his first season with the club hit 13 goals in just 32 games.

The following season he was also in fine form, but when the Italian transfer window opened in the New Year Roma stepped in, snapping up the midfielder.

After just 30 Serie A appearances for the Rome-based club though Parma moved in and signed him for a fee of £18.5million, and he soon repaid them with the only goal of the game against Brescia in just his second home game.

A key member of Japan's 1998 World Cup squad, playing all three games in a team that failed to win a game, the hopes of the home nation progressing in the tournament will rest largely on Nakata's shoulders.