Hiroki Sakai left the team due to the multiple yellow card suspension. Nagatomo left the team too due to possible concussion suffered in training.
Time to switch for 3-back, I think. As Uchida injured, Nagatomo having some injury problems, the Sakais aren't world beaters neither they are even close to the level of Uchida and Nagatomo, and If we add to that the poor wingbacks in young generations (with the probable exception of Muroya) + Some J-League top teams like Urawa and Hiroshima using 3-backs, I think it will be better for the NT to switch for 3-backs and using extra player in the attacking end instead.
I'm not sure that having so-so fullbacks is a good reason to switch to 3 at the back, especially given that often you will end up playing "native" fullbacks at the wingback slots anyway. I don't think they've even practiced it substantially, certainly not enough to be ready for a huge fixture like Australia away. In retrospect, Nagatomo and Uchida's prime years were underappreciated - they were legit Champions League level performers who just didn't play a sexy position. IMO Nagatomo's decline was inevitable given his reliance on explosive athleticism, but Uchida's knee issue is a real tragedy as he probably would have aged better otherwise.
We don't have TWO decent CBs and you wanna play with THREE? I don't understand. Ota on the left, G. Sakai on the right and we're good.
I didn't mean Australia's game, I mean it is something that should be considered by the coaching staff. I agree with you about Nagatomo and Uchida, in their prime years they were monsters and UCL materials. And we don't have to play with full-backs as wing-backs in a 3-6-1 formation, Sanfrecce, for example, used to play and is still playing with wingers like Mikic, Kashiwa and Shimizu and it worked for them as they won 3 of the last 4 J-League titles. So my point is that if we don't have healthy and decent fullbacks, let's have 3-backs, and get 1 extra attacking player instead.
Generally you can still qualify with 2 losses. 3 losses is possible but then you pretty much need to draw almost never... If this was the home game, it would be very dangerous to get out with 0 points. But the away game could've been a loss and we would still qualify. Since we also lost against UAE, though, this would be the second, so the answer is that it would still depend a bit on the other teams' results.
Worst possible scenario in the worst possible moment. Aussie were our Achilles heel for ages when we were good if not really good. Now w/o our best players cuz of underperformance/injury/shit happened we are nearly doomed. I can clearly see Tim Cahill scores except Yoshida and Morishige go on steroids. Better for Vahid and JFA to think about some plan B or the 2005 declaration to be wc winner by 2050 will taunt us again.
Nishikawa; G. Sakai, Yoshida, Morishige, Makino; Hasebe, Yamaguchi, Kagawa; Kobayashi, Honda, Haraguchi
I feel like Australia are going to come out like a train. Japan are going to have to weather a storm.
What a ********ing crazyness is it ? Kagawa for Kiyotake who assisted again like last time for Japan and was a very good player against Irak. Honda for a real striker and thats even he is absolutely slow and out of form ???? Kagawa who was not good enough to make the starting 11 for Irak but now without any playing time for the stronger oponet Australia ? I realy loose my faith in this coach, this is self desctruction. He dont know what to to and dont know what they players can be. Even if Japan win this game 5-0 he has no plan....no plan. VERY VERY disapointet