[Colonna Nazionale di calcio giapponese]The Japanese national team concluded the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 with two wins and one defeat.
The Japanese national team struggled in the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, but ultimately reached the final round in 2nd place. Even if we failed to show the expected results before the start of the season, the significance of such events is not only negative.[Intervista e testo di Ryohei Hayashi]
■“Japan encirclement network” in Asian countries
(C) Taisei Iwamoto
Japan certainly achieved results last year that could put it on par with the rest of the world.
They won their first revenge match against Germany since the World Cup in Qatar on enemy territory. They defeated mid-range countries such as Turkey, Canada and Tunisia and quickly gained worldwide attention. They will continue to dominate the Asian Cup and move closer to their goal of winning the World Cup. There are probably many people who have written such stories.
However, the reality is not so simple. At the Asian Cup, where they were aiming to win their first championship since 2011, it was thought that they would be able to advance to the group stage without any major problems, but they showed a shaky performance against Vietnam and at one point reversed themselves. . In the match against Iraq, he struggled against the opponent’s tall attackers and lost his strength. We managed to win the match against Indonesia, but we couldn’t overpower them.
It was indeed an “unexpected” start, but you can say that this is a wall that Japan ran into because it continued to steadily advance.
What has clearly changed is the attitude of his opponents. Japan quickly attracted attention by defeating the world’s top countries with consecutive victories, but this also led to increased vigilance from opposing countries. So far I have felt respect for Japan on the Asian scene, but now it is normal for every team to give more than 120% to win against Japan. Looking at our opponents this time, we can see that they thoroughly analyzed Japan’s weaknesses and the things they didn’t like, and that they were forced to play against Japan in a situation where they had a “Japanese encirclement network” . it has been done.
One reason is that the tactical level of the opposing nations has improved, but there are also many matches on other cards that don’t seem as intense as the one against Japan. The fact that the number of countries overflowing with the desire to win here and achieve great results has increased means that Japan has reached a new level. They have become a team that gives them the confidence that if they can beat Japan, they can compete against the rest of the world.
■Discrepancies between players
(C) Taisei Iwamoto
On the other hand, there has also been a change in the mentality of the players. As with the World Cup, as more and more players experience the Champions League (CL) and Europa League (EL) at club level, “a motivation gap has been created” regarding how much they should focus on the Cup of Asia (Director Hajime Moriyasu) There is no doubt that this is true. With European Championship matches coming up sooner and later, players may be thinking about their team and not wanting to get injured. Maybe I wasn’t careless, but each of these thoughts accumulated and created an opening. That’s where I got hit. Ritsu Doan’s words are spot on.
“We can’t win with 80% effort because we’re playing against Asia. We have to give our all and see if the result will be 1-0, 5-0 or 1-1. From the start, today it’s not there no one who can win if you give 80% and think you can win. I think that’s a way of expressing that he was criticizing Asia a little bit.”
Furthermore, the game has been influenced by the shift from the previous mentality of “we have to win” to “it’s natural to win”. With the idea that they had to win by dominating matches like the one in Vietnam, there was a discrepancy between the players who wanted to go on attack and those who wanted to go cautiously, and the balance that had been the basis of the team leading until it has now been discontinued.
For this reason the meeting-debate held two days after the defeat in Iraq was of great importance. By exchanging opinions and sharing what needs to be done, we will strive to reduce the gap in individual awareness. By doing this, they were able to come together as a team and improve the performance of the team as a whole.
As mentioned above, this is a wall that Japan needs to overcome because it is growing stronger and stronger. In recent years, the number of foreign teams has increased rapidly, and as more and more players find themselves on the same stage as the world’s top-level players, the eyes of those around them change and their mentality also changes, which is a different problem than before. However, in a way, it means that we are getting closer to the rest of the world in the sense that we can think from the same perspective.
This isn’t a negative story, it’s just a process of leveling up. We cannot say that everything is clear yet and we need to find a solid solution. From this moment on in the final phase of the tournament there will be no easy matches. However, there is a feeling that if they can overcome this obstacle, they will reach the next level.
As I have become stronger, I will take the next step to become even stronger. Japan’s evolution continues.
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