Japan's Shinji Ono putting team glory first

BONN, Germany, May 28: Japan's Shinji Ono has resigned himself to a place on the bench for his country's World Cup opener against Australia.

Once an automatic choice, the former Feyenoord midfielder looks likely to be among the substitutes for Japan's Group F clash with Guus Hiddink's ''Socceroos'' on June 12.

''It's not as if I've never been on the bench before,'' smiled Ono today, 48 hours before Japan meet World Cup hosts Germany in a warm-up game in Leverkusen.

''I'm on stand-by to play and just hope I get the chance to play at the World Cup.'' Ono had a frustrating World Cup in 2002 after being struck down by appendicitis before the tournament. Co-hosts Japan went on to reach the last 16 without his help.

His career since then has been plagued by injuries but the 26-year-old has looked sharp since leaving Feyenoord to return to his former J-League club Urawa Reds at the start of the year.

Japan coach Zico still appears decided to start holding midfielder Takashi Fukunishi ahead of the mercurial Ono, however, for his team's crucial Group F opener in Kaiserslautern.

''I was a substitute in Lebanon (at the 2000 Asian Cup) and hopefully I'll still have a role to play,'' said Ono, who made a cameo appearance as an 18-year-old at the 1998 World Cup.

''But the team is more important than any single player. The whole country is behind us so the most important thing is not to let them down. I'm sure my chance will come.''

REUTERS