On Monday 3 October, SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) welcomed eight players including midfielder KAGAWA Shinji (Borussia Dortmund/Germany) and midfielder HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany) to the team practice held in Saitama, in preparation for the third match against Iraq and the fourth match against Australia of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. 

The other players who arrived one day late due to their respective club duty are midfielder HARAGUCHI Genki (Hertha BSC Berlin/Germany), defender SAKAI Gotoku (Hamburger Sport-Verein/Germany), defender OTA Kosuke (SBV Vitesse/Netherlands), forward ASANO Takuma (VfB Stuttgart/Germany), goalkeeper KAWASHIMA Eiji (Football Club de Metz/France) and YAMAGUCHI Hotaru (Cerezo Osaka). In light rainfall, they were separated from their teammates who had been working out from Day 1 and engaged in light regimen such as running, ball movement drills and trunk training, taking fatigue from recent matches and traveling into consideration.

Meanwhile the group of players who started the team practice from the beginning went through game situation drills in groups of five focusing on passing speed and limited number of ball touches assigned. With Coach Vahid HALILHODZIC watching, they also worked up good sweat in 5-on-5 game with smaller goals.

The goalkeepers checked their catching and reacting moves. They practiced reacting balls coming back from a net in short distance and also balls coming from behind a screen that targeted to limit their vision. In addition, they worked on their saving accuracy by catching tennis balls and football one after another in turn.

After the team practice, midfielder KIYOTAKE Hiroshi (Sevilla FC / Spain) paired up with coach Halilhodzic to work on his shots, while defender UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers) went through clearing balls with his head together with coach TEGURAMORI Makoto.

After the loss in the first match against the United Arab Emirates last month, Japan are now standing at third place in Group B with one win and one loss after two matches.

Goalkeeper Kawashima came back to the team for the first time since June, being expected by the coach to take leadership role especially mentally. He says “what is important now is everyone stays confident and gets back their effervescence. I want to keep pushing up the team higher until this whole team play lively again.” 

His teammate Hasebe said of the entrusted goalkeeper “with him on the squad, the team gets straightened up. His presence is very notable within this national team.” “They invited the players who did well in Rio (Olympics) and the team got younger. They work very hard. It’s necessary for us to stay patient even if we go into the second half without goals scored,” he added regarding their next opponents Iraq. 

The rest of the players playing overseas including forward HONDA Keisuke (AC Milan / Italy) is scheduled to be with the team on Tuesday 4.

Players' Comments

MF HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany)
Of course it’s better for me to keep playing in matches for my club, but it’s the obligation of the players selected to meet the expectations, because the players here are chosen by our coach with his trust. Everyone wants to perform well on the pitch and acknowledges the need to prove our worth. Iraq put two different teams on the pitch in the Australia match and the Saudi Arabia match. They were different from the ones we played against last time. They were defending well, so they may stick to the same game plan or maybe come more aggressively, because they have nothing more to lose. We want to prepare for both possibilities and beat them in the end as we play patiently. 

GK KAWASHIMA Eiji (Football Club de Metz/France)
No matter whether I get selected to the national team or not, I have been supporting this team as a Japanese citizen. I have experienced how important these final qualifiers mean and I understand the pain my teammates are feeling and the burden they are having on their shoulders. So the loss of the first match was a shock in many senses. We don’t have many players on this team who experienced the tough battles of final qualifiers before the last one, but we have matches one after another and we have to help each other to overcome adversities. To come back from behind, it’s how much we can play to get good results for the coming two matches; we want to focus on that. I have watched my great predecessors like KAWAGUCHI Yoshikatsu and NARAZAKI Seigo. I want to learn from them and keep improving further. 

MF KAGAWA Shinji (Borussia Dortmund/Germany)
I was reminded that the final qualifiers are very tough after experiencing that difficult (first) match. Even though we have experienced it before, things are different each time. It was a very difficult start, but we want to take it to our future by getting good results in the very next match. There were times in the past when I didn’t get to play for my club, and it’s just something I have to overcome. I am expected to prove myself in these situations and help my team win, and more than anything I want to make sure to win. Our national team are the team that have got to advance to the World Cup. So we want to play well for that. It’s not how our opponents play, but it’s how we play. 

DF SAKAI Gotoku (Hamburger Sport-Verein/Germany)
There is no question that next two matches are going to have a significant impact on the final group standings. We can’t lose two in a row at home. Iraq are very good team who can keep playing compact defence. I think that has been demonstrated in the Olympics. I know it won’t be easy, but we want to take advantage of our home pitch surroundings and play in good condition. The key to be able to perform well is to make the best preparation possible. If we can play well in the first match and build momentum, we can carry on performing well in the next match. So I want to play with that in mind. 

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

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

ASIAN QUALIFIERS - ROAD TO RUSSIA

2016-10-6 (Thu.) - 19:35 (estimate time)
Saitama Stadium 2002
SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Iraq National Team
More information

2016-10-11 (Tue.) - 20:00 (estimate time) (Japan Time 18:00) 
Docklands Stadium (Melbourne, Australia)
Australia National Team vs SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
More information