The Asian Cup Round of 16 will be held on Wednesday (31st), with Japan fighting Bahrain. Although the "Blue Samurai" have successfully broken through the group stage, their performance has not been as expected, especially in the defense, which has been criticized. Manager Mori Boichi admitted that the outside world has high expectations for Japan's performance in the Asian Cup and said that they will focus on doing well against Bahrain, and also apologized for not being able to attend the game on time.
The Blue Samurai will face Bahrain in the Round of 16 in their quest to regain the Asian Cup title. After being late for the first match of the group stage, Morihiro and Kubo, who were present at the match, were late again by about 10 minutes. When asked by the South Korean journalists why they were late, Morihiro apologized, "It's a team management issue, but last time I was late because the driver drove around the venue for 20 minutes to find a place for us to get out of the car, so I'm very sorry. The response drew laughter from the audience.
Japan, who lost in the final of the last tournament, finished second in Group D with two wins and one loss, and were questioned for their unconvincing performance, but Mori said he sensed that there were high expectations for the Blue Samurai. I think the overall standard of football in Asia has improved, the competition has become more competitive and the gap between the strongest and the weakest has narrowed down.
