Now only one away match against Saudi Arabia is remaining in Japan's Asian Qualifiers Final Round (Road to Russia) campaign. The Japanese squad were put through the official training at the match site King Abdullah Sports City a day before the final fixture. The venue has capacity of 60,000 even though it is specifically made for football, and it will be reportedly filled tomorrow. Including the atmosphere expected and the actual touch of the pitch, each player had a chance to gain plenty of information.

At the press conference ahead of the official training session, Japan coach Vahid HALILHODZIC said, "Both teams are beautiful. Saudi Arabia may be feeling the pressure to win, but we came here to win as well. The stadium is expected to be full and the beautiful pitch is ready. I want you all to expect a good match."

Japan's match against Saudi Arabia is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. the next day Japan Time) on Tuesday 5 September.

Coach's and Players' Comments

Vahid HALILHODZIC, Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
I think tomorrow’s match will be a good match. Both teams are beautiful. Saudi Arabia may be feeling the pressure to win, but we came here to win as well. The stadium is expected to be full and the beautiful pitch is ready. I want you all to expect a good match.

We brought the players who can perform well against a team like Saudi Arabia. I trust the team that will play tomorrow. I expect our players will meet that expectation. Our mental toughness is very important in playing in the climate like this. We need to be mentally strong as individuals and as a team.

Our players showed great performance against Australia. In today’s meeting I told our players to stay alert and be the team with a big ambition. Saudi Arabia are a high-quality team. If we are ambitious heading for the World Cup, tomorrow’s match is a challenge that we need to overcome.

DF MIURA Genta (Gamba Osaka)
Tomorrow’s match against Saudi Arabia is a chance for the players who didn’t play in the Australia match including myself to show what we can do. If I get the chance, I will do my best for the team to win. I got selected to the national team and experienced the moment to get the World Cup spot right at the spot. Now I want to play in the World Cup much more than ever. From now to the World Cup, even in the practices and matches for my club, I want to improve my strength even further such as one-on-one situations and sending good feeds.

MF KOBAYASHI Yuki (SC Heerenveen/Netherlands)
It was good to get to practice at tomorrow’s match site and get the feel of the pitch. The pitch condition was good, I think. This is the third day in Saudi Arabia and we are getting used to the heat and humidity. If I get a chance to play tomorrow, I want to show everything I can do. So I need to make sure that I prepare well. Japan already clinched a spot in the World Cup and then we face the match tomorrow. But as professionals, we want to win any match that we play. Also this team are going into the preparation process for the World Cup, and there is no guarantee for me to be selected again. So I will do my very best in the Saudi Arabia match tomorrow as a starting point.

FW SUGIMOTO Kenyu (Cerezo Osaka)
It’s been a while since I joined the team and I have been able to communicate well with many players on the team. I don’t see any problem in combination. It’s a must-win situation for the opponents, but if I get to play tomorrow against Saudi Arabia, I want to stick to getting the win as a player and also as a team. We have limited amount of time before the World Cup, so I want to make sure to keep scoring goals for my club and showing the kind of performance that the national team expects us to show. I want to keep showcasing myself.

Schedule

* The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

ASIAN QUALIFIERS - ROAD TO RUSSIA

2017-9-5 (Thu.) 20:30 kick off (estimated time)
[JST 26:30 kick off (estimated time)]
Saudi Arabia National Team vs SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
Saudi Arabia/King Abdullah Sports City
Live on TV Asahi group and NHK-BS1

More Information