On Wednesday 4 December, coach MORIYASU Hajime of the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) announced the roster for the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019, which will take place in Busan, Korea Republic from Tuesday 10 December. The 22-man roster featured 10 new players, including NAKAGAWA Teruhito (Yokohama F・Marinos), as the coach shared his aspiration to raise the overall level of the team.

The E-1 Football Championship is a tournament held every two years to determine the champion among four nations from East Asia. This year, the tournament is held during a non-FIFA International Match Day, so the squad was selected from a pool of players playing in Japan. Players selected for the first time includes Nakagawa, who has scored 15 goals at the J.League this season, ENDO Keita (Yokohama F・Marinos), TANAKA Ao (Kawasaki Frontale), SOMA Yuki (Kashima Antlers), MORISHIMA Tsukasa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), TANAKA Shunta (Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences), WATANABE Tsuyoshi (FC Tokyo), KOGA Taiyo (Kashiwa Reysol), OGAWA Koki (Mito HollyHock), and TAGAWA Kyosuke (FC Tokyo). Nine out of these 10 players are from the U-22 Japan National Team, and along with OSAKO Keisuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), KOJIMA Ryosuke (Oita Trinita), and UEDA Ayase (Kashima Antlers), the team consists 12 players from the U-22 generation.

With more than half of the squad being selected from the U-22 generation, coach Moriyasu shared his thoughts, “These players could become the core members of the team at the Tokyo Olympics, FIFA World Cup Qatar, and beyond. Therefore, I want them to gain experience now and utilise the experience to achieve greater success in the future.” The coach also mentioned that this tournament will be a try-out session for these young players, “In order to survive through the future competitions, they must be capable of showcasing their full potential at these tournaments.”

After being selected into the team for the first time under the regime of coach Moriyasu at the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2019 in November, IDEGUCHI Yosuke (Gamba Osaka) made his return to the team along with OHSHIMA Ryota (Kawasaki Frontale), NAKAMURA Kosuke (Kashiwa Reysol), HASHIMOTO Kento (FC Tokyo), and MIURA Genta (Gamba Osaka).

The jersey numbers were also announced on this day, as Nakagawa was given the #10 jersey. Following the final fixture of the J.League, scheduled to take place on Saturday 7, one more player will be added to the squad to make it a 23-man roster. The tournament will be held in a round robin format, where Japan will face China PR on Tuesday 10, Hong Kong on Saturday 14, and the two time defending champions Korea Republic on Wednesday 18.

Coach Moriyasu concluded the press conference by stating, “Teams from East Asia will be competing with their prides on the line. While we strive to win each match, we must also focus on raising the overall level of the team and developing the players through the competition.”

The team will be assembled in Korea Republic on Sunday 8 December.

Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
Teams from East Asia will be competing with their prides on the line at this tournament. The Japan National Team must compete in behalf of all the supporters and strive to win each match. Through this competition, I hope the players will gain a precious experience that will make them a better player, especially for those younger players from the U-22 Japan National Team. As for the experienced players, I want them to showcase a performance that can prove that they are capable of leading the Japan National Team, while passing down their wisdom to the younger players. Every player on this squad has the potential to become a better player, regardless of their age. The E-1 Football Championship presents us with a tough challenge, but through the tough competition, Japan will raise the overall level of the team and add more options for the future tournaments. I chose a squad where everybody on this team is capable of competing at a high level. In order to compete at the world level, we must raise the overall level of this team. We must learn from our defeat against Venezuela in November. We must remember that bitterness and feed off of that experience to become a better team. We will be competing at the E-1 Football Championship with only the players playing in Japan, but we hope the tournament will allow our players to reach a higher level, and that these players can inspire and raise the overall level of the Japan National Team and the Japanese football community as a whole.

SEKIZUKA Takashi, JFA Technical Director
With this tournament being held during a non-FIFA International Match Day, we have selected players primarily from the domestic league. However, this is still an official tournament where our pride is at stake against our neighbouring countries. It is important that we showcase a solid performance that represents our football community. Therefore, each player must approach each match with the responsibility that they are representing Japan. Through this tournament, I hope we can raise the overall level of the team and provide more options for coach Moriyasu in future tournaments.

Schedule

*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019 Final Korea Republic

Tournament Dates: Tue. 10 - Wed. 18 December 2019
Tournament Venue: Busan Gudeok Stadium/Busan Asiad Main Stadium (Korea Republic)
Participating Countries: China PR, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea Republic

Tournament Information

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