Japan national team boss Takeshi Okada is hoping that striker Keisuke Honda can continue his good form in tonight's knockout clash with Paraguay. The CSKA Moscow man has become a key player for the Blue Samurai in the World Cup finals after the team struggled during the lead-up to the tournament and now they are on the verge of a quarter-finals berth, Okada has identified Honda as a vital member of his line-up.

"His strength is, unlike most Japanese players, his physical power. He is aggressive on the ball, has a cultured left foot and a solid technique," Okada told reporters.

"He is a midfielder by trade but has a nose for goal at a time me when we don't have a proven striker. I have high hopes that he will (continue to) score goals and help create them."

Okada added that he is aware of media speculation about his future as the boss of the Japanese team but insisted, regardless of results, he would end his tenure on his terms.

"I haven't read the papers at all but I have been told what has been written and how opinion has changed. But it is only a matter of time before that changes again, so I am not letting it affect me one way or the other. Whether I get hammered in the press or praised I am still going to go my own way," he added.