Denfintely. Anyone can see how both Felix Sanchez and Carlos Queiroz both adjusted their line-ups, formations and game-plan from match to match according to the context and situations. Even their in-game management and substitutions seemed to be well-planned. To sum it up: Moriyasu has no plan B, he just depended on the post-WC momentum and the presence of Nakajima, when Nakajima was injured and the momentum faded away everything went south and he has no clue what to do.
Moriyasu has to ensure his team would leave a good impression in the upcoming Copa America. And why not? Beat Qatar in the semis
One thing I have learned ages ago is that you must never dismiss calmness and size when it comes to choose a starting goalkeeper. We have complained so many times that we need both, so we shouldn't have an excuse when one of the goalkeepers (Schmidt) actually has both for a change.
Ito is a winger, Muto is a striker. They have nothing in common, so you cannot compare them to each other.
Necessary lost to know what is wrong for jnt to make a change on time I still think 2 CMs in midfield is not the right formation, at least in this final since Shibasaki is not in top form. Wataru Endo showed some surprising progress but I don't know which level he can achieve. Before the tournament, with Nakajima's injury I didn't view jnt as favorite so reaching the final and coming this close to equal for me is kind of good achievement. However as someone pointed out, the performance was far from desirable. In my opinion it is because jnt lacks someone who can dribble, keep possession and draw man markings in attacking. Nakajima seems to be the only option right now, without him, jnt's attack is somewhat predictable Also, right now jnt doesn't have a real 'star' in attacking. Someone who strikes fear to opponent, who teammates can look after in dye situations. As Moriyasu said himself, jnt's achievement till now is by team's power. But the team is in need of a 'heavyweight' name.
Oh believe me. They sure will. These arab teams are predictable. More like a one hit wonder. i don't think they will even continue on with their "project" after WC 2022 ends. What has motivated them this tournament is the odds that was put against them by their own "kind" and the fact that the tourney is being hosted by one of their political "adversaries" is more of a reason to play that good.
I agree. None of them had the reputation of a Superstar, be it in attack or defense, the likes of Nakamura, Honda, Y. Endo, Nakazawa and co. I had faith in Yoshida as a dependable mentor but he showed his goofiness again and again. There's still hope in Shoji, though.
This loss is a blessing in disguise I feel. The way Zac Japan rode the glory for 3 years after the 2011 AC contributed to their downfall.
Come to think of it, I agree. Under Zac, Japan had many splendid matches against the likes of Argentina, Beating France in Paris, drawing The Netherlands, and consequently, the team was so overhyped, they lost it completely in the main stage at WC 2014.
Yeah Yoshida is extremely disappointing. Actually I rated him highly. I don't know about japan's DFs history but he was the first Asian CB I saw who is tall, strong build and still has somewhat good skill and passing Many of my friends consider him as an typical 'strong but weak with the ball' -type of CB. But I don't think so. It's just that his form in this tournament is horrible.
Yuji Nakazawa is the best CB in Japan's history. Tomiyasu might be the next big thing in CB. Yoshida is ridiculously overrated and not deserve a starting spot in Japan's NT nor to be the captain for this WC cycle.
It'd more believable if this was the Asian Chamipons League final. Something tells me, there will be more surprising and ridiculous moments in WC 2022 like Qatar in the final against Egypt and they win lol.
Tomiyasu may be able to surpass even Yuji Nakazawa....oooohh. Tomiyasu-Shoji partnership....its on cmoooon....and Ueda/Yoshida bench.... Look at those subs though: 84' Junya on, 89' Inui on.....seriously..
In some games I watched, Shoji's distribution looked very impressive but he is way too adventurous as a CB for my liking. Or maybe jnt's CB pairs always need a libero/dm hybrid like Hasebe or Abe for them to perform
Yes, this is a total foolishness from Moriyasu. He had nothing to lose and still waited until the last minutes, he even did not bring them together and waited until the last couple of minutes to bring Inui. Seriously? Even the first substitution, Muto was brought late (62'). It is a continental final and you are down by 0-2 at HT, it is clear that your team is not clicking, so the most rational decision is to use one subtitle directly after HT or change the formation and the approach. Whatever the situation is, he still brings in substitution way too late. This totall bad in-game management. Even Zico -who I rate as the worst JNT's coach since 1997- used substation and was changing formation during the game better than Moriyasu.
I'm also though a proponent of coaches developing, and think he deserves until at least the start of the FWC qualifiers (so 2 years roughly) to learn from this. After all this is completely different to coaching at club level.
Likewise. Korea and Japan are in a transitional form at the moment. Hopefully, things will get better as both managers figure out the best 11 for their respective teams. Good luck to both teams.