On 18 January two days ahead of their final match of Group D against Jordan, SAMURAI BLUE squad tuned up in Melbourne aiming to get through the group stage at the AFC Asian Cup as their practice was closed to public except for the first 15 minutes.

Unlike the strong sun and severe heat in Brisbane, the Japan national team worked out under the climate just like Japan’s autumn with cool, inward breeze from the Port of Melbourne. Before the practice session, head coach Javier Aguirre gave a 10-minute talk to the squad gathering on the centre of the pitch.

The players except three goalkeepers, divided into three groups, worked on pass and go drills with dribbles as they tried to call up an image of sneaking through between opponents in a small area. Physical coach Juan Iribarren called out to be aware of “accuracy,” “intensity,” and “speed.” And then, they took up drills for transitions between offence and defence in a 4-on-3 scrimmage before reviewing their tactics in closed-door training.

After their practice, media members presented a birthday cake to Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hasebe Makoto for his 31st birthday. Hasebe with his smile said “The birthday changes nothing, but today is the day to appreciate everyone because I’ve got here with football.”

Midfielder Konno Yasuyuki of Gamba Osaka rested at hotel due to a foot injury that he suffered from the Iraq match on 16th. He continues a separate training programme from his team to look for a comeback before the end of their tournament campaign.

Japan will take on Jordan on 20th as keeping atop in their group with six points after two straight wins and separating themselves by three points from Jordan and Iraq and six from Palestine. Japan can claim a quarter-final spot with a win or a draw.

The final matches of Group B were held on 18th in Melbourne and other sites. China and Uzbekistan finished their group stage at first and second respectively. In the quarterfinals, China will meet Australia and Uzbekistan will face Korea Republic.

Comments

MF HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt)
It’s comfortable to move our body in this cool weather. I must be in form. At the meeting (at the beginning of the practice), our head coach talked about what were good in the Iraq match. He said “You’ve got to apply your plays to practical situations and by doing those, you can mature as a team. To be a champion, you’ve got to get application ability. Now you are getting there.” The Asian Cup is an all-out contest. We drew with Jordan at the last Asian Cup, so we will win this time to catch the momentum for the knockout stage with a good football. We’ll well-prepared for it.

DF YOSHIDA Maya (Southampton FC)
I don’t have any special feeling on Jordan. They always give us some assignments. We’ll make good preparations, but we don’t work on anything special. All we have to do is to get three points with good risk management and fewer mistakes. I need to learn from and take advantage of the mistakes that we made in the last matchup and show a better version of ourselves.

DF SAKAI Gotoku (VfB Stuttgart)
Both as a team and as an individual, our performance is getting better as we played matches. Making a mistake is not a good thing, but it’s important how well we can make an adjustment. Without breaking a balance as a team, I will try to go forward if I have a chance as managing risks against opposing counter-attacks. I saw the match between Iraq and Jordan. Jordan have some skilled attacking players, so we need to be careful of them and play the match figuring out how they attack forward.

GK HIGASHIGUCHI Masaaki (Gamba Osaka)
To get playing time, you’ve got to train enough. Goalkeeper coach Ricardo (Lopez) gives me advice on how to reach further when making a save and how to get rid of my bad body habits to make a good goalkeeper. For when the need arises, I will try to be in shape.

DF SHOJI Gen (Kashima Antlers)
Our coach is only thinking about winning. So do players. It’s great that we’ve come here with a clean sheet, so everyone needs to try keeping it. I’m a defender, so if I have a chance to play, I also pursue it as my objective.

JFA-TV

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