On the 28th, the Japan Football Association (JFA) announced the members of the Japanese women’s national team (Nadeshiko Japan) that will travel to the United States in April. Japan will play the United States on the 6th, and then face Brazil or Canada in the final or third-place match on the 9th. Director Futoshi Ikeda attended the press conference and answered questions.
●Director Futoshi Ikeda
“Last month, Nadeshiko Japan won the final Asian qualifying round against North Korea (North Korea) and managed to earn a place in the Paris Olympics. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the staff who supported us, to the fans who came to the National Stadium and to all those who supported us on TV despite many uncertainties. I would like to express my gratitude. Thank you very much. There are less than four months left until the Paris Olympics. With such a short preparation period, I will make the most of this trip to the United States (She Believes Cup) and the activities that started at the end of May made a significant difference. I want to prepare well for the Olympics. Also, after last year’s World Cup, we are working on growing our team and building a team during the second and final Asian qualifying round, and then the Olympics. I would like to monitor and encourage each player’s growth through his activities one by one.”
─Injured midfielder Hinata Miyazawa is back in the squad, but was he called up with the hope of playing in some matches?
“Regarding Miyazawa, our medical team, coaching staff and her team were in constant communication and contact. We were also aware of the status of her rehabilitation from the injury and she was able to return to training with her team. called up because there was information that he was in good condition and could play. It remains to be seen how he will play in terms of condition and fighting style. In the limited activities preceding the Olympics, he will also play It’s true, but I thought it was It is necessary to mature even off the pitch and for this reason I included him in this lineup.”
─GK Shuu Oba and DF Toya Moriya are also back in the squad, but there are no questions regarding their call-up.
“Oba is a goalkeeper, but while Yamashita (), Hirao () and Tanaka () have accumulated various things from the Women’s World Cup, we aim to further increase the number of players we share and expand the level of goalkeeping. We called them up this time. It might be different if we are in an environment where we can call up four goalkeepers, but we are thinking of deepening our goalkeeping depth. Moriya is also playing well in his team. There are also expectations that he will be of great help to Nadeshiko in terms about what he can do in our position and his ability to move up and down, and he will bring his daily growth to our team. I called a meeting.
─The SheBelieves Cup is in the same situation as the Olympics, there are only two days left to go, but what the team would like to confirm is
“As for the schedule, I think the fact that the Olympics will be held in two days, and that the two days will involve moving venues, will be confirmed in this SheBelieves Cup. I also don’t think the situation will be exactly the same. However, it is a good simulation for the staff and players to be able to experience the flow of travelling, training, analyzing the next opponent and entering the match in a short period of time. The opponent of the second match will be Brazil: it will depend on the situation of the first match, whether it will be Canada or Canada, but we played against Brazil (in the same Olympic GL group) three times last year, so I think we will try various things. Second Cup, we need to increase the number of things that we can do in preparation for the Olympics and at the same time confirm the construction part. We have to compete with a limited number of people, and there is also the purpose of judging.”
─Oba is the only member of this team who has never competed, but do you plan to use him actively ahead of the Paris Olympics?
“I always think about giving the girls various experiences, not only with her, but also with the matches, and with the pairing of players. I also have the role of goalkeeper, so I’m thinking about the relationship with the FP girls. I hope that through this activity, not just the matches, they can gain experience, how to build things, how to use them and how to cultivate those combinations in training.”
─The pairing for the Paris Olympics has been decided, what do you think?
“Talking about the result of the draw, there are 12 countries participating in the Olympics, so I know it will be a tough battle, no matter which team we win against. I had a good idea that the first pot would be France or Spain, and I knew that the third pot bracket would have been Brazil or Colombia, so it wasn’t a big surprise, but it was Spain. We often competed in the under category, so I always felt like we had a connection. World Cup, I think every country did evolve their teams and changed coaches, so we have also been involved in the competition, including the core teams that have been there. I would like to increase the amount of things I can do on this tour, and I want to see how we will compete and how our players will respond to changes both on and off the field.
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