The Japanese National Team completed its twelve-team group for the Asian World Cup qualifying round while the JSL was suspended for the just concluded international week. The team known as the "Blue Samurai" finished second in Group A with 22 points after 10 matches, just one point behind, but still earned a spot in the 2022 World Cup final week. Although the Blue Knights achieved their goal, their performance was a mixed bag. Now, let's take a look back at Japan's last two matches.
March 24, 2022 Australia 0:2 Japan
This is a crucial match, with Australia trailing Japan by three points before the match and must take all three points to keep their hopes of direct qualification alive, while Japan only needs to beat their opponents to reach their goal of qualification, and even help Saudi Arabia to qualify directly, so you can see the importance of this match.
Japan's head coach Morihoichi started most of his regular starters for this match, with Maya Yoshida, Takumi Minamino, and Ko Itakura continuing to start, but with strikers Isao Osako and Dairen Maeda out of the match due to injuries, the main attacking point of the match had to rely on Takuma Asano, and the attacking power naturally declined.
As this was a crucial game for both teams, both teams adopted an attacking style of play and tried to gain an early advantage, making the first half a very open game. Takumi Minamino, who plays for Liverpool, had two shots on goal in the first half, but unfortunately, both of them hit the goal frame and failed to give the "Blue Samurai" the lead. The hosts, who were relatively weak in attack, also had a chance to score, but in the 26th minute, Australia created confusion through a corner kick, and Japan's defender Yamane Sakurai misjudged the goal, but the referee ruled that Australia's center back Shane Bailly had infringed on Japan's keeper Shuichi Gonda, and the goal was disallowed. The two sides exchanged goals in the first half.
However, the second half was a completely different story, as both teams became more conservative, with only a handful of threatening shots on goal. Although Australia had the advantage of possession, they did not create any real offense. Coach Arnott even sent out Uruguayan-born goal scorer Konaroli to strengthen the offense for the first time on behalf of the national team, but the effect was not obvious; whereas Japan, who has the dominant right to advance to the Champions League, naturally adopted the tactics of steady counter-attacks in the second half, which made the game fall into a state of stalemate. However, with Kaoru Mitaka coming on in the 84th minute, the situation changed. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder broke the deadlock in the 89th minute by scoring from a teammate's pass, and sealed the victory for the "Blue Samurai" with a solo goal in stoppage time to help Japan beat Australia 2-0, and gained a direct promotion to the final week of the World Cup. Japan beat Australia 2-0 to secure a direct place in the World Cup final week.
It is worth mentioning that this match was the first time Kaoru Mitaka scored for the Japanese national team, and the fact that he scored consecutively is certainly something to be celebrated. It is believed that this match will help the midfielder, who plays for St. Kitts United, the top-ranked team in the Bianca League, to be among the national team's starting lineup.
March 29, 2022 Japan 1:1 Vietnam
The Blue Samurai, who qualified directly for the World Cup, returned home to the Saitama 2002 World Cup Stadium to play their curtain raiser match against Vietnam, who were already out of the tournament, making the match a routine affair for both sides.
Japan's head coach, Mori Baoichi, used this game to practice and give a bunch of substitutes more chances to represent the national team. The four new stars of the offense, Ei Kukai, Reio Hatate, Kaoru Mitaka and Eisei Ueda, were all given a chance to start at the same time, but the tacit understanding of the offense is a concern for the fans.
Facing a far superior Vietnam team, and with two veterans in the midfield led by Takashi Shibasaki and Genki Haraguchi, Japan dominated possession in the early stages of the match as expected, but did not create too many threatening chances on goal. On the contrary, Vietnam struck at the 19th minute from a corner kick, with Japan's captain Maya Yoshida misplacing his position and being headed home by his opponent. Japan, who conceded the first goal, fought back in the second half, but the performance of the attacking end was disappointing. The "Blue Knights" had 12 shots in the first half, but only one shot was on target, trailing 0-1 at halftime.
In the second half, Japan replaced flag-bearer Renyo with Junya Ito and adjusted their lineup as their performance began to improve and their offense became sharper. Only ten minutes after the restart of the half, Vietnam's goalkeeper Tran Won Meng saved a shot from the edge of the penalty area by Genki Haraguchi, and captain Maya Yoshida took advantage of the opportunity to rush forward to add a shot, helping Japan to 1-1. Japan continued to besiege Vietnam for the rest of the game, striving to turn the situation around, and even a one-time replacement of Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Mamorita, and Bea Tanaka to strengthen the attack, but it still failed to win, and ultimately, the game was drawn with Vietnam, and by the same day, Saudi Arabia beat Australia to steal the first place in the group. Saudi Arabia, who beat Australia on the same day, snatched the first place in the group, which is somewhat regrettable.
The "Blue Samurai" did not perform well in this match, and head coach Morihiro Ichi said after the match that the team still has a lot of room for improvement, and will work hard to prepare for the World Cup final week in the coming time. Despite the team's poor performance, Morihiro Ichi is still full of confidence in the team, set the goal of killing the World Cup eight, full of ambition.
The Japanese national team successfully advanced to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, making it to the final week of the World Cup for the seventh consecutive time. However, the team lost two consecutive matches at the beginning of the 12-team tournament, once in a crisis; and in the last match at home against the weak Vietnam also failed to win, the performance can be said to have no dominance, which is no wonder that the head coach Mori Bao'ichi is under great pressure. However, with nearly eight months to go before the final week, it is hoped that Mori will take the opportunity to adjust his team and live up to the expectations of the Japanese fans.
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
April 1, 6:00pm Fukuoka Hornets vs Tosu Sandstone Cable 601/661
April 2, 1:00 p.m. Osaka Hikaru vs. Nagoya Whale Cable TV 601/661
April 2, 2:00 PM Kawasaki Striker vs Sakura Osaka Cable 602/662
April 2, 6:00 p.m. Sapporo Gonzaga vs. Urawa Red Diamonds Cable 601/661
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
April 3, 12:00 p.m. Kumamoto Royals vs. Niigata Swans Cable 601/661
April 3, 4:00 p.m. Tokyo Green vs. Oita-Sanjin Cable TV 601/661
