Okazaki: World Cup Is 'Everybody's Dream'

- Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki previews Japan's FIFA World Cup campaign
- The 32-year-old forward was named in his country's 23-man squad earlier this week
- Okazaki is Japan's third all-time top goal-scorer, with 50 in 112 appearances
- Japan will face Poland, Senegal and Colombia in Group H this summer 

The 32-year-old, who has scored 50 goals across 112 international caps, was named in his country’s final 23-man squad for the competition on Thursday.

As Akira Nishino’s side get ready to fly out to Russia, following a 2-0 defeat by Ghana on Wednesday, Okazaki says the real business of the World Cup excites everybody involved.

He told LCFC TV: “Because it’s the World Cup, it’s everybody’s dream. It’s once every four years, so it’s a good experience and a good memory that I’ll never forget.”

Japan have been drawn alongside Poland, Senegal and Colombia in Group H, a tough draw, but one which Okazaki is confident of navigating this summer.

“It’s a hard group. Colombia, Senegal, Poland... every team is strong,” Japan’s third all-time top scorer added. “Their mentality is strong as well, so it’s a difficult group for Japan.

“Every team has a star – Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mané and James Rodríguez, but we are not a team of stars.

“We have intensity as a team and we are together though. We have a chance, but a small chance. We have confidence.”