Position: Forward
Born: 22.01.77
Club: Parma

Hidetoshi Nakata is referred to as the 'Japanese David Beckham' because of his celebrity status in his homeland - but the dynamic midfielder must also be considered as one of the best players ever to come out of Asia.

He burst onto the scene at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games when he went on to win gold as Japan defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final.

He made his full Japanese debut against South Korea in a friendly in Tokyo in 1997.

Named Asian player of the year in both that year and 1998, Nakata then made a high-profile move to Perugia from J League side Bellmare Hiratsuka - and he scored 13 goals in just 32 games for the Italian side.

When his fine form continued it seemed only a matter of time before a bigger club came in for him and sure enough Roma did just, paying around £13million for his services in 2000.

Despite winning the Scudetto with Roma in 2001, he only made 30 appearances and scored just five goals during his stay there but Parma were convinced enough to pay £18.5million to lure him away from the capital.

The move was not a total success and some say his sparkling form in his days at Perugia vanished as he was loaned out for spells at Bologna and Fiorentina.

Then in August he left Italy to join Bolton for a season-long loan.

Still the man who holds the key for a successful run in this tournament for Japan, Nakata not only has proven quality but the experience from playing in all the games of their 1998 and 2002 World Cup campaigns.

• 22 Yuji Nakazawa
• 8 Mitsuo Ogasawara
• 18 Shinji Ono
• 9 Naohiro Takahara
• 2 Makoto Tanaka
• 19 Keisuke Tsuboi
• 13 Atsushi Yanagisawa