After losing three times in the round of 16, winning this round has become the obsession of the group led by Moriyasu
The question is simple: will Japan be able to break down the round of 16 wall in a World Cup? They’ve bumped into that barrier three times, most recently in Russia 2018, and overcoming that tie in Qatar would be a liberation for the blue samurai that would lead them to become the team they want to be, a world power at the level of the classics from the football landscape.
Since Japan played its first World Cup in France in 1998, it has never failed an edition and always with the same mentality, that of growing. Maximum ambition in every tournament, but always a problem, the round of 16. In Korea and Japan 2002 they lost to Turkey (0-1), in South Africa 2010 against Paraguay on penalties (0-0) and in Russia 2018 against Poland (0-1).
Failures that slow down the football development plan of a country that in the 1990s chose to strengthen its league to promote its national team. Thirty years later it is common to see Japanese footballers who decide to make the jump to European clubs, you just have to look at the list of players who will be part of the team for this event in Qatar, but something is missing. That step. Leading Japan to achieve something important in a major event like the World Cup and football crowding out fans for other sports like baseball, rugby or volleyball (sumo is untouchable).
Looking ahead to 2022, those in charge of Japanese football have once again looked home. After historic bets by selectors like Falcao or Zico in eagerness to learn, the team had three foreign coaches in a row between 2010 and 2018 – Alberto Zaccheroni, Javier Aguirre and Vahid Halilhodžić – but the results didn’t come as intended. For this reason, for the cycle that would bring the blue samurai to Qatar, they chose Hajime Moriyasu, a coach who shone at the helm of Sanfrecce Hiroshima and whom they trusted to prepare Japan for this new challenge.
His team roster includes many well-known names. From Takefusa Kubo, who has built confidence in Real Sociedad this season, to Takumi Minamino, a former Liverpool player who now plays in Monaco and goes through veteran footballers such as Nagatomo or Kawashima, with four World Cups to his name.
Source: La Verdad
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