Prior to the first away match of the 2nd round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia against Afghanistan, SAMURAI BLUE, Japan National Team’s coach Vahid HALILHODZIC attended the official press conference in Tehran and shared his expectation. “We have come to win. We want to win and make a habit of winning.”

After the 2 previous home matches in the Group E of the 2nd round of the Asian qualifiers, Japan will have 5 straight away matches including 1 International Friendly Match. 

The match against Afghanistan is held in the neutral venue of Tehran due to the Afghan situation, but it is expected that many Afghanistan supporters will fill the stadium since many Afghans live in Iran, which is geographically next to Afghanistan. Additionally, the match will be played at high altitude and it won’t be easy for Japanese players. 

Japan coach Halilhodzic said in the press conference. “To win away matches, we have to have even stronger ambition and courage than in home matches.” He also commented on the players’ condition. “There is more than 1,200m altitude difference between Japan and Tehran, but their condition has been getting better day by day and I expect they will be even better tomorrow. We must adapt ourselves, that’s the only way.”

In the latest FIFA World Ranking, Japan is 58th whereas Afghanistan is in 130th place, but they have come up rapidly from 186th place. From this February, the team has been directed by the new German coach who was born in Bosnia, Slaven SKELEDZIC. He has coached youth clubs in Germany. 

For the 2nd round of the Asian qualifying, Afghanistan lost the match against Syria 0-6, and then beat Cambodia 1-0. So far they are in the 4th position of the Group E with 3 points. In the International Friendly Match against Thailand which was played just before the match against Japan, they lost 0-2. 

Forward OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club) says, “Since its an away game, it can be difficult to keep our level of play, but we want to try well making various assumptions.”

Japan is in 3rd place of Group E with 1 win and 1 draw after 2 matches.  So far, they have got only 3 goals in the matches against teams which are lower in the FIFA Rankings. 

“There are many ways like crossing, middle-shots, and free-kicks to score goals and what is important is that the team gets goals and wins the game. In that sense, crosses are very important,” said Halilhodzic.

Okazaki pointed out that they need some more tactics in front of the goal to score more and expressed his motivation to improve the team’s offence. “We have to check the opponent’s defence line carefully and try various and different approaches by looking at what they will do. We still have to improve.”

Midfielder HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt) expects that Afghan players will be more aggressive than in their previous home matches since it is similar to a home match. “They are an aggressive team which moves up well, that means we have quite a lot of areas to aim for by making vertical passes and back passes.”

“I don’t hate the bleak and murderous air of away pitch. I want to enjoy that in the next match. I will do my best to contribute to the victory,” said Forward USAMI Takashi (Gamba Osaka). 

The match against Afghanistan kicks off at 4:55 pm (Japan time 9:25 pm) of 8 September. 

Coach and Players' Comments

Vahid HALILHODZIC, Coach 
We have come here to win. To win away matches, we have to have stronger ambition, courage, sense of sacrifice, and greediness for victory. It requires high level of concentration and strong will in the match. Even audiences won’t support us, we want to win and make a habit of winning.

There are several approaches to score such as crosses, middle-shots, and free kicks, and what is important is that the team scores and wins the match. In that sense, crosses are very important. I told the players to get 3-4 positions instinctively in front of the goal but to make shots calmly with concentration.

FW   OKAZAKI Shinji (Leicester City Football Club)
In the previous match I couldn’t score but as a team we could win. For the next FIFA World Cup, it is better that we struggle and find out what we have to do during the qualifying round rather than being stuck in the issues very before the World Cup. 

This situation is different in sense of that our opponents are the underdogs, but we still have difficulties. It is basic that we have to get 3 positions in front of the goal, but we still have to check the opponent’s defence line well and try different approaches looking at what they will do. In that sense, we still have to improve ourselves.

MF   HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt)
The pitch condition is not as bad as I expected, but it is not easy for us. The Afghan players have to play in the same condition so we can’t really use it as an excuse. If we focus too much looking down at our feet, the opponents can easily steal the ball so I will choose a play that is particularly for this type of pitch. 

I have never played 5 straight matches before. We have never had any easy away matches in Asia and part of the reason was because we couldn’t keep our level of play due to different environment, so experienced players including me, will have to play a role to calm down the match. 

FW   USAMI Takashi (Gamba Osaka)
It cannot be easier to play away than in home, but I want to enjoy this away atmosphere. I don’t hate the bleak and murderous air of away pitch. Once I stand on the pitch, I just want to maximise what I can do as much as possible to contribute to the team. 

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers Round 2 AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)  vs   Afghanistan National Team
2015-9-8 (Tue.) - 16:55＜Local Time＞ 21:25＜Japan Time＞ (subject to change) 
Tehran/Iran

More information
Announcement from Iran Embassy of Japan – To people who come for the match against Afghanistan –