On Tuesday 19 July, the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) played their first fixture of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2022 Final Japan against the Hong Kong National Team at Kashima Soccer Stadium. Propelled by the braces scored by SOMA Yuki (Nagoya Grampus), MACHINO Shuto (Shonan Bellmare), and NISHIMURA Takuma (Yokohama F. Marinos), Japan managed to start off the tournament with a 6-0 victory.

Seeking to win the East Asian title for the first time since 2013, Japan entered the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation with SUZUKI Zion (Urawa Red Diamonds) defending the goal behind a defence line formed by YAMANE Miki (Kawasaki Frontale), TANIGUCHI Shogo (Kawasaki Frontale), HATANAKA Shinnosuke (Yokohama F. Marinos), and SUGIOKA Daiki (Shonan Bellmare). FUJITA Joel Chima and IWATA Tomoki, who both play for Yokohama F. Marinos, were named as the two defensive midfielders, while MIZUNUMA Kota (Yokohama F. Marinos) and Soma were placed in the flanks. Machino was named as the lone striker, with Nishimura serving as the attacking midfielder beneath him.

Despite having a fresh set of players, including four out of the starting eleven; Machino, Nishimura, Mizunuma, and Fujita, making their debuts with the SAMURAI BLUE, the team had very limited time to prepare after the squad was assembled on the 17th. But the first goal was scored in the early minutes, triggering a goal spree for the home side.

Japan started out the match aggressively, earning a free kick just outside of the penalty arc in the second minute. It was Soma who stepped up to take this free kick, which he curled the ball into the left side of the goal to give Japan an early lead.

With momentum on their side, Japan continued to create opportunities to threaten the opposing goal, as the four midfielders from the Marinos; Mizunuma, Nishimura, Fujita, and Iwata, worked in tandem to build the offence, while Machino and Yamane made runs from behind to add layers to the offence.

In the 20th minute, Machino superbly converted Yamane’s cross with a header to double the Japanese lead. Two minutes later, Soma responded to a loose ball just outside the penalty area and delivered the ball to Nishimura, who calmly controlled the ball inside the box before slotting the ball into the far corner to make it 3-0.

Mizunuma made his presence felt in the right flank, as the midfielder struck two close shots in the 26th and 33rd minute to threaten the opposing goal.

Nishimura marked his second goal in the 40th minute, when he received the ball from Fujita and struck a left footed shot from distance, which dipped under the hands of the goalkeeper to extend the Japanese lead to 4-0 before halftime.

Hong Kong, ranked 144th in the latest FIFA rankings compared to Japan's 24th, entered the competition with hopes to build on their momentum from their success in the final qualifying round of the AFC Asian Cup in June under Norwegian Head Coach Jorn ANDERSEN, as they tried to win the ball in the midfield and build their attacks with a passing style of football.

WU Chun Ming and YUE Tze Nam each saw opportunities created from the right side, but their attempts fell short from hitting the target. In the 36th minute, WONG Wai had a close opportunity inside the box, but the midfielder was not able to pull the trigger.

Having taken a commanding lead, Japan introduced NAKATANI Shinnosuke (Nagoya Grampus) to start the second half. Still carrying over the momentum built in the first half, Japan captured their fifth goal in the 55th minute, when Soma redirected Yamane’s cross with a dazzling heal shot with his back facing the goal.

Two minutes later, Machino capitalised on the goalkeeper’s deflection to score his second goal of the match, further extending the Japanese lead to 6-0.

MIYAICHI Ryo (Yokohama F. Marinos), WAKIZAKA Yasuto (Kawasaki Frontale), and IWASAKI Yuto (Sagan Tosu) came off the bench to replace Soma, Nishimura, and Mizunuma in the 64th minute, while OMINAMI Takuma (Kashiwa Reysol) was introduced in the 74th minute.

Hong Kong also made five substitutions in the second half, which included the introduction of ICHIKAWA Sohgo, a 17 year old midfielder born in Japan who plays for Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee SC.

Japan finished their first match with a victory, scoring six goals on 21 shots compared to three for their opponents.

The SAMURAI BLUE will now move to Aichi, where they will face China PR on Sunday 24 and Korea Republic on Wednesday 27 at Toyota Stadium. China PR and Korea Republic will play their first match in Toyota on Wednesday 20.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Head Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
We had many players making their debuts or returning for the first time in a while, but the players did a great job keeping themselves on the same page despite having very little time to work together. Each player made their presence felt, as they showed great responsiveness to work as a team and make the necessary adjustments on the pitch, even when mistakes were made. I told the players that I wanted them to demonstrate their physical, technical, and mental strengths to prove that they can work in tandem with a group of players they have never played with before, and I think everyone did just that to work as a team. Different teams apply pressure in different ways, so it is important that we keep our players on the same page in terms of where and when we turn on the switch as a team. We went over in yesterday’s training session and today’s pre-match meeting that the forwards are going to turn on the switch to win the ball in the flanks. The players were able to work in tandem with good timing and intensity, which led to the free kick that led to our first goal. I also think the players did well to share their intuitions they gained through the match. To make things go as smoothly as possible, we want to implement what the players are used to doing with their own clubs. Today we utilised a lot of players from the Marinos, and the players understood how we were going to play as a team, as they communicated well with each other. We hope to use as many of the players who didn't get to play today as possible in our next match.

MF/FW #9 NISHIMURA Takuma (Yokohama F. Marinos)
I am glad I was able to earn results today. My teammates at Marinos know how I play, so I entered this match with the intention of demonstrating my usual performance at the club. Including myself, many players were new to the team, so I was anxious that this was going to be a tough match for us. In fact, there were many things that didn't go well, but as the coach said, if we make a conscious effort to improve through the games, I believe that I can make a case for myself. Doing what I can do to help the team win is the best thing I can do for the team, and I think it will also help me grow as a player, so I will keep that in mind and focus on performance.

MF/FW #11 MACHINO Shuto (Shonan Bellmare)
I am honestly very happy to have scored in my national team debut. When I scored the first goal, I was in between the opposing defenders and as I was trying to challenge the ball, a great cross was delivered, so it was easy to head the ball. We knew that it would be hard for us to link-up as a team and that we would make lots of mistakes in this match, so I entered the match with the intention of focusing on how to respond when mistakes happen. I personally felt like I needed to make more runs into the space behind the opposing defence line. This was a great debut match for me, but at the same time, we still have two more matches to go, so I will try to reset my mind ahead of our next match against China PR. I am committed to scoring more goals when I am given the opportunity.

MF/FW #16 SOMA Yuki (Nagoya Grampus)
I wanted to contribute to the team’s victory, so I am really happy to have scored two goals, but we have two more matches against tougher opponents waiting ahead of us, so I will try not to rest on my laurels and continue to work hard to prepare myself. When I scored from a free kick, I wanted to hit the ball harder and aim for a better spot, but I was confident in my ability to take shots from that angle, so I am glad I was able to score from it. I knew Mizunuma was capable of delivering quality crosses, so I made conscious efforts to make a run into the mix, which led to my second goal.

Jorn ANDERSEN, Head Coach of Hong Kong National Team
These matches are necessary to progress the team into the future. We knew Japan was strong, but we didn't want to defend for 90 minutes, so we fought with the intention of establishing our own playing style for the future. Japan is a very technical team who are capable of playing at a high level, and I feel like we have learnt a lot from this match. We will analyse what went wrong in this match, and try to make the most of this experience to improve our performance in the next match.

EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2022 Final Japan (Men's Tournament)

Tournament Dates: Tue. 19 - Wed. 27 July 2022
Venues: Kashima Soccer Stadium (Ibaraki), Toyota Stadium (Aichi)
Participating Countries: Japan, China PR, Korea Republic, Hong Kong

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