Japan suffered a 1-2 defeat to Iran on Saturday (March 3), ending their Asian Cup run in the last 8 of the tournament. After the match, Blue Samurai head coach Mori Bao-ichi took responsibility for the defeat, admitting that there were mistakes in substitutions, and hoped that the team would move forward and prepare for the upcoming tournaments outside of the World Cup.
Japan, the 4-time Asian Cup champions, were regarded as the favorites to win this year's tournament, but in the end, they could only finish in the last 8, disappointing many fans. Some Japanese netizens described the Blue Samurai's overall performance in this year's tournament as inaccurate, completely out of the usual style of play of the Japanese team, and even said that the defeat against Iran was the worst performance of the game. After the match, head coach Mori Baoichi immediately asked the team to gather around the circle and review the situation on the sidelines.
