Japan will send an understrength squad to Melbourne to face Australia on June 17, with Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura not making the trip as he nurses a groin injury. Nakamura is joined on the sidelines by influential Gamba Osaka playmaker Yasuhito Endo, while VfL Wolfsburg representatives Makoto Hasebe and Yoshito Okubo have also pulled out, as has in-form VVV Venlo midfielder Keisuke Honda. Despite the long absentee list, Japan coach Takeshi Okada remains confident that his side can inflict Australia's first defeat of the campaign in front of an anticipated crowd of more than 80,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Let’s just put it this way: if Real Madrid had wanted to spend just a little more than it did on Cristiano Ronaldo this week, the club could have bought...