Javier Aguirre, head coach of SAMURAI BLUE, attended a press conference at the match site on 22 January and showed his confidence at tomorrow’s quarter-final against the United Arab Emirates, saying “We are strong enough to win the match.”

It has been just two days since the Japan national team beat Jordan, finishing group stage matches with three straight clean sheets. While Japan have a tough schedule in addition to the long trip from Melbourne, the opposing UAE finished their group stage matches one day earlier. But Aguirre does not seem worried as “Our players are not completely recovered, but tomorrow they will be 100 percent recovered with intensity and speed,” he said.

The Japan boss is wary of the UAE, saying “They have good players including the goalkeeper and all of them are competitive.” “We start from zero again. All the eight teams who qualified for the quarter-finals are hoping to win. We will keep our concentration during 90 minutes and win in the end. We are strong enough to win.”

The UAE team are consisting mainly of players who have been developed since their youth generation. After the boss Mahdi Ali was in charge of the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship (where they won the championship), the 2010 Asian Games (where they became runners-up), the 2012 London Olympics (where they played for the first time in their history), he took up the senior team head coach duty in 2012. “I don’t like to lose even in friendlies. We have built up our team for many years with lots of great players,” he expressed his confidence.

Although defender Walid Abbas will not play next because of a one-match suspension for the yellow cards in the group stage, the UAE defeated Qatar 4-1 and Bahrein 2-1 with capitalising on their strong point, the combination between forward Omar Abdulrahman and forward Ali Mabkhout, who scored three goals in three matches at this tournament.

Japan kept clean sheets in their past three matches, but Ali said “Japan’s defence has not been tested in their three group stage matches, but tomorrow will be different. We want to score first.”

Defender Nagatomo Yuto commented quietly but strongly. “Hopefully we can perform how we have built up as a team. It’s important how much you can run at all costs for the team. I will run for the team tomorrow.”

It’s still doubtful if defender Morishige Masato of FC Tokyo can play after he banged his face against a Jordan player. Aguirre still said “I believe he can play.” After finishing their practice at Australia Stadium, Morishige also said “I worked out today as usual. There is no problem at all.”

Japan’s record against the UAE is five wins, two losses and seven draws. The recent matches against them are both at the Kirin Challenge Cup as Japan drew 1-1 in 2008 and won 1-0 in 2012.

The quarter-final match is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. Japan time) on 23rd. Japan, clinching the tournament in 2011, gun for the back-to-back title, which is their fifth one.

Comments

Javier AGUIRRE, Head Coach (Japan National Team/SAMURAI BLUE)
We start from zero again here, and all the eight teams who qualified for the quarter-finals are hoping to win. We keep our concentration during 90 minutes, respect opponents and win in the end. I believe we are strong enough to win. There are only two days after the previous match, but I don’t see it’s important. We fine-tuned yesterday and today. Our players have not completely recovered as of today. But tomorrow they will be 100% recovered with intensity and speed. The UAE have good players including the goalkeeper and they play well with the ball. All of them are competitive. I think the match will be very intense on the ball and we all may go up and down, back and forth on the pitch. We will defend as a team and keep a clean sheet just as we’ve done. We will also arrange the team well and play the match putting more pressure on the opponents.

DF  NAGATOMO Yuto（FC Internazionale/Italy）
All I can say is we want to win. It’s a (knockout stage) tournament, so one mistake can lead you to a defeat. It’s important for each player to play without fear for mistakes and play with confidence. We unite as a team and show what we’ve built up. It’s also important to get our own work done at hand. I was happy Kagawa scored in the last match. I hope he can refresh his mind with the goal and score again tomorrow, and I will also work hard to help him out. It’s important how much you can run at all costs for the team. That’s what I’m trying to achieve as my objective. If you are serious about having such kind of spirit of self-sacrifice, you can receive the greatest pass at the best moment and lessen mistakes that you made in the past. I will run for the team in tomorrow’s match.

DF  MORISHIGE Masato (FC Tokyo)
(Speaking about the bruise) I still feel a bit of pain in my gums, but I worked out today as usual. There is no problem at all. We have come here with good results. I hope we can have the match in this good condition. Yoshida (Maya) said of me that “he is a tough defender,” so I will play with feeling the pressure that I need to live up to his expectation. We have been able to play like when someone makes a mistake, another player covers it. That’s a good sign for the team. I will focus on the next match to fight it out without thinking about the following ones.

Mahdi ALI, Head Coach (UAE National Team)
Tomorrow’s match will be intense for the both teams. I hope the both teams bring out their best. We have a player suspended for the match but don’t have any injured player. We are ready for the match tomorrow. Japan keep the possession and play an open style of football. Most of them play in Europe and they have excellent mentality, technique and tactics. But we have studied Japan as we played teams who have a similar style to Japan. We will play our best match tomorrow. Having been with this team for a long time, we share many things among players from talented generations and understand what to do each other. That’s quite important. We will bring out our best and put up a good result.

JFA-TV

International Friendly Match
U-22 Japan National Team vs U-22 Myanmar National Team
Wed. 11 March 2015    Kickoff 19:10(plan)  Fukuda Denshi Arena/Chiba 
More Information

KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2015
SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Tunisia National Team
Fri. 27 March 2015   Kickoff 19:30(plan)   Oita Sports Park/Oita 
More Information

JAL CHALLENGE CUP 2015
SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Uzbekistan National Team
Tue. 31 March 2015   Kickoff 19:25(plan) Tokyo Stadium/Tokyo
More Information