Japan defender Maya Yoshida believes that playing in last summer's Confederations Cup will act as "valuable experience" ahead of his side's World Cup campaign.

The Samurai Blue entered the competition 12 months ago as winners of the Asian Cup, where they faced Brazil, Italy and Mexico, losing all three games in the process.

"Brazil is the host of both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup, and we really got to experience this country, both on and off the pitch," Yoshida told FIFA.com.

"Other than things such as the heat and the environment, we got to experience Brazil in areas outside football such as the food and life inside the hotel. I think the fact that we've experienced this country once already will make a huge difference.

"Although we didn't get very good results in the Confederation's Cup, I think competing against teams that are said to be the best in the world was a valuable experience for us."

Japan take on Ivory Coast in their opening World Cup game in the early hours of Sunday morning.