On September 7, news came from Japan's Yahoo that Japanese soccer star King Tanaka Doukasu spoke highly of Chinese soccer's naturalized players on his YouTube channel.
"The naturalized players are not to be underestimated, they are top players and I'm afraid this is a bad sign for Japan."
A third-generation Japanese of Brazilian descent, King Tanaka moved to Japan during his high school years and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2003, representing the Japanese national team at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The naturalized players of the Chinese team are also said to have high expectations for their participation in the World Cup.
"These players are especially eager for the World Cup because they are unable to represent their countries of origin, which is a big advantage for the Chinese team. Moreover, the naturalized players have adapted to the culture, language and climate of China, which certainly adds to the dilemma for the Japanese team."
After the recent defeat to Australia, the Chinese national team will face Japan in the second round of the 12-team tournament tomorrow night, and the Vietnamese media website Soccer+ has published a pre-match analysis titled "The Blue Samurai's Battle to Reduce Stress".
Analysis suggests that this will be the perfect time for Japan to relieve the pressure against a weaker opponent after their unexpected defeat to Oman in the first round, and a 2-0 win is expected.
The data shows that the Chinese national team and Japan's record in the last 10 meetings is 5 draws and 5 losses, the last time the Chinese national team beat Japan was in the Dinas Cup (the predecessor of the East Asian quarterfinals) on March 7, 1998, when the Chinese team won 2-0 over Japan in Tokyo, with Ri Bing scoring a solo shot.
