On Tuesday 26 June, with their spot into the round of 16 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia at stake, the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) practiced in the morning at their basecamp in Kazan. With their final group stage match against Poland scheduled in just two days, the team left to the match site, Volgograd by a chartered flight in the afternoon.

Training session was held in the morning as the sun scorched the field while towering thunderclouds appeared occasionally. The session was open to the public for the first 15 minutes as the players were seen warming up by jogging lightly and stretching themselves up, focusing on conditioning their bodies. Then the doors were closed as they reviewed their tactics against Poland.

With two group stage matches already in the books, Japan have earned four points by winning and drawing one each. While they are tied with Senegal with both points and goal differential, Japan can clinch either one of the top two places in Group H if they can win or draw against Poland. Which will give them their fist round of 16 appearance since the 2010 World Cup.

Even in case of a defeat, Japan can still clinch second place if Senegal beats Colombia in the match scheduled in Samara, which will start at the same time as Japan’s contest. If Colombia wins against Senegal, tiebreaker rules will dictate who advances to the knockout stage as, the goal differential, the total goals scored, and the fair play point determined by the number of warnings received, will be compared between Japan and Senegal in that respective order. If Senegal and Colombia draw, Japan will be eliminated because of the unfavourable goal differential.

Poland has lost to Senegal 2-1 in their first match and to Colombia 3-0 in their second, as midfielder Grzegorz KRYCHOWIAK (WBA)’s goal late in the match against Senegal is the only goal they have scored. Forward Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Bayern Munich), has won three scoring titles in the past five years in Germany’s Bundesliga and scored 16 goals in the ten European qualifiers for this World Cup, but has failed to score a single goal so far.

They are ranked eighth in the FIFA Rankings, while Japan sits at 61st. The team has appeared in the quarterfinals of the EURO Championship in 2016 and they are making their eighth appearance in the World Cup, the first since 2006.

Many of the Japanese players are aware of their need to remain focused and utilise all the weapons the team have.

OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club) says, “We are not in such an advantageous situation.” He continued by stating about their opponent, “They are a great team. That’s why they have piled up points until they reached eighth in the FIFA Rankings. Just as the last two matches, the entire team must fight, including the bench.”

YAMAGUCHI Hotaru (Cerezo Osaka) also shared a sense of urgency, “They wouldn’t want to go home empty handed. They will come out to seek for a win against Japan, so that they can go back on a high note. This match will be a little different than the previous ones.”

YOSHIDA Maya (Southampton FC) added, “Representing their country here, they can never go home with three straight losses. I know it will make it difficult for us. But we tend to get better results in difficult situations, where we have our backs on the wall, rather than facing an easy setting. So, it’s not a bad thing for us.”

Although Kazan experienced a sudden squall with hailstones falling in the afternoon, the itinerary of the team was not affected much, as they headed to Volgograd as scheduled.

On Wednesday 27, one day prior to the match, the Japan squad will undergo an official practice at Volgograd Arena. The match is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday 28 local time.

Players' Comments

FP #4 HONDA Keisuke (CF Pachuca)
Since the 2014 tournament, each one of us has wanted to play in the World Cup again and earn better results. And now it’s materialising in a not so bad way. It seems that Coach Nishino is doing what we wanted to do in 2014. The clear difference between then and now is how our football philosophy has changed from having ourselves as the centre of our attention to having the opponents as that. If you know what the opponents are going to do, there is no point in sticking to your old tactics if it’s not suitable. Showing what you can do on the pitch is a prerequisite. We have made a significant change in terms of our intention to analyse and contain our opponents. We are giving all we’ve got and showing good results, and I think we deserve credit for that.

FP #9 OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club)
At the World Cup, if you consistently make the appearances, you will be more experienced in terms of how you survive through the matches. We have looped through that cycle for some years now, and this time we have earned four points thus far. In the past tournaments, we have struggled to win matches and experienced how difficult it is to earn the points. The number of the players playing overseas has gotten larger, and that is one of the reasons why we are able to come back from behind in middle or late phases of the matches with all that pressure. I think Poland will showcase their true capability at their final match. So, we will have to face the best version of them, and it will be a difficult match. We must take advantage of all the takeaways from our past two matches. The entire team must fight as one, including the bench.

FP #16 YAMAGUCHI Hotaru (Cerezo Osaka)
A win will take us to the next round, and I think in that sense we have the advantage. Although our opponents are already out of the contention, I think they want to go home with a victory. So, in order for us to win the match, we must have a stronger will to win it. I want to maintain my condition so that I can do my job when I get the call onto the pitch. I think we will be able to possess the ball just like the last two matches. The tournament has been running under some tough heat, and it’s been pretty hot for the past two days as well, but I think we have been dealing with the heat well.

FP #22 YOSHIDA Maya (Southampton FC)
In a stretch like this where you play matches one after another under extraordinary pressure, the ability to recover becomes an essential factor, especially on the mental side. We must recover ourselves mentally after each match. I think our team are more confident than before and we have the momentum on our side, too. The players who haven’t played in the last two matches are very eager to play, and I can sense that motivation. I think things are going in the right direction. Even if our next opponents are not working very well as a team, Lewandowski can beat you with just one play. Also, in the qualifiers, he has scored goals through set-pieces and we have allowed goals through set-pieces thus far. We must find ways to eliminate his strength while we keep our weaknesses out of the game.

Schedule

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

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

Tournament Dates: 14 June - 15 July 2018

Group stage
1st Match Tue. 19 June Kickoff at 15:00 vs Colombia National Team (Mordovia Arena)
(21:00 Japan time)
2nd Match Sun. 24 June Kickoff at 20:00 vs Senegal National Team (Ekaterinburg Arena)
(Mon. 25 June, 0:00 Japan time)
3rd Match Thu. 28 June Kickoff at 17:00 vs Poland National Team (Volgograd Arena)
(23:00 Japan time)

For more information