The Japan national team, who are currently at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, resumed their practice sessions at the team’s base in the outskirts of Itu in São Paulo on 22 June, in preparation for their last group stage match against Colombia.

The players on the ground seemed to be refreshed after yesterday’s day off and they held a two-hour practice session, going over their tactics for the Colombia match.
One of the players, Endo Yasuhito, noted: ‘we all feel refreshed. A day off worked quite well for us.’

The team will fly to Cuiabá, the host city for the game against Colombia, on 23 June and hold an open practice session at the Arena Pantanal.

The Japan national team lost their first match 2-1 against Côte d'Ivoire and played out a 0-0 draw in their second match with Greece. The team is currently sitting in third place in Group C with one point. To make the knockout stage, Japan has to get four points by beating Colombia - currently topping the group with six points - by more than two goals, while Côte d'Ivoire, who are now in second place, has to remain on one point after their next game. If both Japan and Greece win their respective matches, giving them both four points, one team will be chosen on goal difference or on the total number of goals in that order.

Comments

HONDA Keisuke（AC Milan/Italy）
I’m focusing on beating Colombia. Although it is now out of our hands, I believe in miracles and we still have a chance to make the knockout stage. The possibility that this will come true is not zero. I won’t change my principles now, as these are my foundations, and they give me strength. I’m encouraging myself with the thought that now is the time to put my beliefs into practice with strong conviction. To achieve results, I need to believe in myself and trust other players, don’t I? All of us can’t suddenly be like supermen, and individual characteristics won’t change dynamically, either. So I personally think it’s time to go back to basics.

ENDO Yasuhito（GAMBA OSAKA）
Motivation is high and we’re well prepared to play our best in the next match, although we couldn’t show this in the previous two games. It’s important not to lose our confidence, and remind ourselves of an image of the team when it works perfectly. It’s vital to stand on the pitch, believing intensely that ‘we’re the best team’. It can’t be over just yet, as we’ve come this far. I want to continue this adventure much longer. This is what we all want. All of us, including the players on the bench, believe that we can make the next stage and we’ll do our best.

UCHIDA Atsuto（FC Schalke 04/Germany）
Personally, I perform better when I’m under pressure. Being relaxed is also important and the coach does many things to get us relaxed for the match. I do believe the result needs to be proven on the pitch, though. Without a good result, people will obviously think our team is not working normally. It’s down to us to show how well our team can work. I’d like to stay positive rather than think negatively about what we couldn’t do.

KONNO Yasuyuki（GAMBA OSAKA）
We’ve been practicing in a very good atmosphere since the buildup. As we couldn’t win the first match, we might have been dwelling too much on ‘the reasons for failure’. I know it’s important to analyse the good and bad points of the opponent. However, right now we do want to play our style more than anything, which gives us strength and really lifts us. As we have pace and stamina, we’d like to run on a systematic basis, switching the attack and the defense quickly and use our skills from midfield to up front.

JFA-TV