On Friday 22 June, with their second group stage match against Senegal in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia approaching in two days, the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) trained in the morning behind closed doors at their base camp in Kazan before taking a charter flight into Ekaterinburg, their next match location.

The squad are in the middle of their four-day interval after the first match against Colombia where they earned three points. At the beginning of the practice, Coach NISHINO Akira gathered all his players at the centre of the pitch to share his objective of the day enthusiastically mixed with body gestures.

In the first 15 minutes of the session, the team focused on conditioning drills, as they were seen stretching, going through agility workouts and core trainings. The team then went onto play keep-away in a small area with the three goalkeepers and the coaches all together. The session was then closed to the public as the team went through their tactics in preparation for the Senegal match.

After working out separately for the past two days, HONDA Keisuke (CF Pachuca) finally joined the team practice. After the training, he spoke to media on his condition, saying “I have no problem. With two more days left, I want to prepare myself well.”

Senegal took on Poland in their first group stage match on the 19th at Moscow. Employing the 4-4-2 formation in their 2-1 victory, the African side opened the scoring in the 37th minute from an own goal, followed by Mbaye NIANG’s goal in the 60th minute. The team went onto secure their three points despite conceding a late goal to Poland’s Grzegorz KRYCHOWIAK.

Although Japan and Senegal are currently tied in Group H with the same points and goal differential, with a win against Senegal on the 24th and a tie or better from Colombia against Poland will grant Japan with their first round of 16 appearance since 2010, before their third group stage match against Poland.

Senegal consists talented players who plays in major European leagues such as Liverpool star Sadio MANE, Stade Rennais’ quick-footed attacker Ismaila SARR, and Napoli’s sturdy defender Kalidou KOULIBALY.

Japan has recorded a draw and two losses against Senegal in their past encounters, as their most recent being an 1-0 loss in September 2003, where Senegal’s current coach, CISSE Aliou, played in the match.

While many players of the Japanese squad have played with or against Senegalese players at leagues in England, France, Germany and Italy, the players acknowledge that the Senegal side are a very well organised team with the attributes of other African teams, such as their speed and power.

INUI Takashi (Real Betis) says “the Senegal players are very athletic and very fast. But their positioning may become loose.” SAKAI Hiroki (Olympique de Marseille) pointed out, “Without a doubt, their biggest strength is their counter-attacks. When they have the space to work with, we must find ways to stop them from doing their job.”

Honda shared his confidence towards the foreign media, saying “We have wonderful players with strong determination. We have strong physical attributes, speed, and the experience from playing with the big clubs.” He continued to speak of his aspiration, “I think this will be my last World Cup, so I am giving all I’ve got, and I really want to finish this run with great success. We know the weaknesses of the African teams.”

Japan National Team are scheduled to hold an official practice session at Ekaterinburg Arena, the match venue, on Saturday 23 June. The match will kick off at 8:00 p.m. local time on Sunday 24 June.

Players' Comments

FP #4 HONDA Keisuke (CF Pachuca/Mexico)
I have found some weaknesses of the Senegal team, so the key will lie on how effectively we can exploit that. I have started to share those with my teammates, and there are some aspects I can attack myself. Nobody can play perfect football for the entire 90 minutes and African teams tend to lose focus in the second half. We must commit ourselves in the next match to clinch our way into the next round. We have experienced clinching after playing three matches before, but the team was exhausted by the time we entered the round of 16, so it is ideal to secure our spot in our second match. Once we are able to do that, we will finally be ready to lay out the game plans for the matches ahead.

FP #14 INUI Takashi (Real Betis/Spain)
Against Colombia, especially in the first half, I couldn’t help my team very well. So, I want to learn from it and do my best in our next match. Senegal players are very athletic and very fast. But their positioning may become loose at times, so we want to use that to our advantage to keep up with them. They will come out applying pressure quickly and their legs will come reaching for the ball from unexpected angles. In order to cope with them, it’s crucial to make our decisions quickly and constantly move the ball. We must all be aware of this while anticipating for their counter attacks.

FP #18 OHSHIMA Ryota (Kawasaki Frontale)
It almost feels like the Senegal players will take out your whole body along with the ball, if we don’t make our decisions quick enough. We must cover each other’s back by applying numbers and anticipating the situations. We have nurtured our senses through our practice sessions where we applied quicker pressure on ourselves, so it will come down to our decision makings on the pitch. When our team is wide spread from each other, the opposing power and their intensity maybe felt larger than it actually is, so we must stick together and give enough support to those possessing the ball.

FP #19 SAKAI Hiroki (Olympique de Marseille/France)
In my opinion, Senegal is one of the best teams in this group, if not the best. Without a doubt, their biggest strength is their counter-attack. When we allow them with space to work on, the key lies on how we can stop them from doing their job. We must keep good positionings while holding each other accountable. When we turnover the ball, we must approach them quickly and make them commit a foul or find ways to slow them down. Those little things will add up throughout the 90 minutes and eventually earn us the points we need. We should strive to earn the full three points, but we must not be too eager and let the one-point slip away. More than anything, we want to maintain our composure and face the match.

Morning Session