Here is the other play. Maybe hard to nitpick on the foul because its such terrible defending to begin with, and I still don't know how Kawashima failed to grab the ball. Possible dive by the Iraqi player that burst into the area in the first place.
Nagatomo slipping, Yoshida not clearing the ball, Kawashima acts like some random J2 keeper... Comedy troupe...
Hey that was not Nagatomo. Respect fot Yuto. ******** yeah. Finally a in/out match. Let's win or die Vahid-sensei.
Doesn't anyone in here know how to read a table? It is NOT a must-win, not by any chance whatsoever. Japan can lose that match 0-10, and still qualify with ease with a 1-0 win away vs Saudi. And Australia will play against Thailand and Saudi got UAE left, which both can be very tough opponents on their day, so even if Japan ends up drawing both their 2 remaining matches their chances are still not that bad. And if there were to be a tiebreaker scenario it is not given that Japan will lose that either as they won 2-1 vs Saudi at home and drew 1-1 away vs Australia. Japan are still the frontrunners in this group due to the extra point they have, so they have indeed 2 matchballs left.
I know how to read a table. It's a must win because you'll NEVER win in Riyadh with the attitude shown in these last two games. NEVER.
No. A must-win game is if all other possibilites are gone IF you don't win. That is absolutely not the case here. Even in Japan NEVER were to win in Riyadh, they dont necessarily have to cause Australia might mess up vs Thailand at home. And a 0-0 draw vs Australia would put Japan ahead of Australia in head-to-head, meaning a loss in Riyadh will be ok as well as long as Australia only gets a draw vs Thailand. It is a match Japan SHOULD win, cause if they dont they will make it very hard for themselves ahead of the last match, but no matter how you look it is NOT a must-win.
Just a thought, why don't try Suzuki for the CB spot? I would've done that. Two good seasons in Segunda Division certainly made him a better player. We all know Yoshida is nr 1 but the player that will play along side him is still uncertain. Bring Shibasaki also!
Lol Suzuki, Gimnastic nearly got relegated this season if I am not wrong. If Suzuki, I rather Tatsuki Nara or Gen Shoji.
14th place of 22 teams. Last year they played qualifers for La Liga. Well you gotta try. They havent exactly shined in that position right?
Shoji is head and shoulders above the rest of the Japanese CBs except for Yoshida. Yoshida (2018) & Shoji will be a much better duo than Yoshida (2014) & Morishige/Konno. The defense was perfect in the Iraq game with the exception of that silly mistake. By the way, Japan has conceded only 2 goals from open play throughout the qualification.
I still think Shoji must be called, but as back-up for Yoshida. I'd like Nakatani along side Yoshida, because he's better with ball on the ground.
Shoji is definitely way above Makino and Morishige right now. Other than him, the best performing Japanese CBs in J.League this season are Yuji Nakazawa (yes, he's still doing pretty well at 39) and Kentaro Oi, but they are certainly not in contention for the NT. I like Nakatani too, but he is not ready to start yet. At least he's a better prospect than the likes of Ueda, Miura or Nara.
Thursday 24th of August. A day after ACL qf match between Urawa and Kawasaki and Pachuca's game in Mexico's top division (maybe to make sure about Honda's fitness?).
This turned to be a "classic" match despite Australia is in AFC just recently. Probably from the 2006 catastrophe onward.