Japan coach Philippe Troussier has tipped his side to march on into the quarter-finals after qualifying for the second stage for the first time in their history.
The co-hosts' 2-0 victory over Tunisia took them through to the last 16 as Group H winners, setting up a clash with Turkey on Tuesday.
And Troussier believes the roar of Japan's passionate home supporters can inspire them to victory in Miyagi.
"I think we deserved to win. To qualify for the second round was our main aim but we don't think this is the end of things," he said.
"We are not tired, we have more to give, we are fresh and on home turf.
"We are calm, we are on our way, we want to achieve good
things.
"Against Turkey, I think that with our 12th man, the home
crowd, we can hope for many more good things."
Japan struggled to break through in the first half but goals from substitute Hiroaki Morishima and star player Hidetoshi Nakata after the break sealed a comfortable win.
"This is a victory of the Japanese spirit, of the Japanese courage and the willingness to be aggressive by taking on the opponents," said Troussier.
"We never worked out mathematically how we would qualify, we just always tried to play forward-looking, attacking football.
"I thought the players were nervous in the first half because they knew that they could not afford to concede a goal.
"I used my joker in Morishima. We got the goal and we relaxed into the game."
Troussier, who cut his teeth as trainer in Africa, said the victory was the culmination of four years of hard work with the Japanese team.
"Personally, I owe much to Africa. This is a great symbol and
a special moment for me," he admitted.
"It's a coming-together of Japanese football potential, which
is not properly recognised, particularly in Europe.
"We have built up a momentum which has carried us forward
from the first round, helped by the atmosphere from the home
crowd.
"This momentum will carry forward into the matches that follow."
E-mail this story to a friend
