On the night of July 24th, China drew 0-0 with hosts Japan in the 2nd round of the East Asian Cup. In the post-match press conference, Japan's head coach, Mori Baoichi, gave his thoughts, "Although it is worth thinking about in terms of the result that we failed to win, I think the players gave their best in the match, and I give full credit for that."
Commenting on the match, Mori Bokichi mentioned, "Although we won the match against Hong Kong, China with a big score of 6-0, from a more comprehensive point of view, in today's confrontation with the Chinese team in the first half, we were more fluid in our movement in the offense, the team's will was stronger, and the number of mistakes was relatively fewer. Even though the result was not what we had hoped for, I firmly believe that the players deserve credit for their performance on the field."
Talking about Japan's squad, Mori Baoichi said, "As this edition of the national team is made up of players who play in Japan domestically, there are seven players making their international debut for Japan in the match against Hong Kong, China, and five players making their debut in the match against China. While these players may be teammates in their clubs, they have not had much time to train together as part of the national team, so they can only strengthen their understanding of each other through actual matches."
Regarding the final situation of winning the championship, Mori Boichi said confidently, "Even if we beat China today, we still need to beat Korea in the final round in order to win the championship. Even though a draw with Korea means we won't win the title, I still look forward to beating them and sharing the joy of victory with the players, staff and fans. Our goal - to win the East Asian Cup - has never changed."
