China has actually helped Asian football imo. Just by having their expensive clubs play against AFC teams is huge. But its unlikely as far NT goes. They cant even outplay Syria a war torn country.
If you have ever watched J.League you know that this kind of stuff happen way more there than in any other league in the world. So it is indeed very typical for Japan. You can google or research it if you want.
That was so sad seeing Japan going out like this Well done, you made Asia proud, I always knew Japan was capable of doing something at the big stage. See you at the Asian Cup!
Someone should throw eggs at Kawashima at airport. Belgium was mentally devastated until that stupid goal. ******** Kawashima.
Devastating defeat for Japan, and that it comes against the nasty, foul-playing and overrated Belgium-side makes it even worse. I wish Belgium no luck at all, and hope that Brazil humiliates them in the next round. Of course, chances are that they might go on and win the whole thing now, but they will never be my champions. Japan played a great game, but you could almost sense a Belgium-comeback at 2-0 up, and the way it happened was heartbreaking for everyone involved. For those of us that follows J.League we are familiar with this kind of stuff though, and one has to wonder if its a result of the Japanese mentality. Osako once again played a great game, and although I still think he's useless when it comes to putting the ball in the goal he contributes in other ways to this team and were a vital part in this tournament. Haraguchi not so much, but his goal today was great (although a bit lucky maybe?) . Like others, I didnt agree on the subs and the tactics on that last corner-kick but its hard to single out any single players that let us down. As Saku says, it doesnt matter in the end if you play well (like vs Italy in 2013) if you end up losing in the end anyway. Results matter, and although Japan did better than many anticipated at this WC I think the sky could have been their limit if they had managed to hold on to their lead here...
I think modern football dictates that a CF most valuable skillset is holdup play. Ofcourse he still has to be at least average when finishing ( scoring) which he is with that colombia goal.
But it's not only Japanese national team players that play in the J League....not sure what your point is. Also very intrigued to see your proof of this strange statistic
But all of them have played there. And it's more related to the Japanese mentality than J.League itself. Why I don't know, but choking is extremely common in Japanese football. I don't need to show any more proof than refer you to www.soccerway.com. It will take you 2 minutes to find multiple examples of teams choking. Either in terms of giving away the league title/promotion in the last round(s), or in single matches. You can compare it to any league you want and the numbers don't lie.
I have just started coming from the rollercoaster of emotions, but (man!) this one is going to hurt very badly for a long time. The old French folks who once told me about France/Germany in 1982 described that match; they said that France were so naive tactically after they took a 3-1 lead in extra time . Many of the things who were seen and said on that day can be found today in anyone who supported Japan in this one. Being a Manchester United fan who already doesn't like Marouane Fellaini for what he brings on the pitch and who wanted to see him gone away, he found another way to get on my shitlist after today. That Belgian team has not won my heart with all of the hype around it, and hey are not going to anytime soon. The subs and the tactics from Japan are my biggest gripe. During the first half, I was with a friend and we started comparing the way Japan played with the way Portugal held France off in the Euro final in 2016. However, it seems that the players forgot how to keep frustrating the opposition when they went 2-0 up. Passing the ball around, controlling the ball, and making the Belgians run should have been the things to do at all costs to defend the lead. But more important than that, the first 2 Belgian goals happened because Japanese players did not play a tight marking on their opponents. It's one thing to have physical advantage, but positional advantage is often more important than the former. On the last Belgian goal... I'm still puzzled. The thing that Belgium dreaded most, except for losing the match, was to burn their energy reserves in extra time. If Nishino ordered his team to have at least 6 or 7 bodies back to stop any counterattack and drag this into extra time, it would have been a major blow to Belgium ahead of a clash with Brazil down the road. In the end, Japan as a footballing nation needs to learn that it no longer matters how you play the game in elimination matches. Style means little or even nothing when the only thing that matters is to get through to the next elimination round. Very much this. There is a need to introduce those younger players, but, most importantly, they need to be drilled everything they need to learn about how to play with the scoreline. If you have to park the bus, then park the bus. If you need to score a goal, then pass the ball around until gaps appear because no defense is unpenetrable.
Me neither, and I'm saying that as a Manchester United fan who is among those who do not like his new contract. I wanted to see him gone and given the same treatment that Chelsea gave to Diego Costa. Just **** off, you afro ****!
Even in extra time, I still think it would be hard for Japan to win. Belgium basically changed their entire lineup for the England match and hence had the fresher legs. You can see hoe the Japanese players were knackered by the end of the match and their squad are younger than us by quite a bit. Nevertheless, I hope Moriyasu can bring Japan forward for the next 4 years. It is time for Japan to find a better GK, CBs and DM by the time the next WC comes up. Hasebe, Yoshida prime Kawashima will be hard to replace. Players like Yamaguchi, etc. need to be banned from the JNT as well.
How sad is it that even at 2-0 I did not feel comfortable with Japan's lead? That's not just hindsight.
But teams choke in every league. Also by that logic the other team which is also Japanese is the team coming from behind and doing well so it works both ways
Not related but if big teams play par in the Asian Cup Japan has one tough ass bracket. Australia in the Quarters, Iran in the Semis. Saudi vs Korea in the Quarters. UAE and Iran with a cakewalk to the semis. Who does these brackets? Smdh.
It makes me sad many of these players are done. Honda. Kagawa. Next wc they are out. An era is gone. Nagataomo is 31. He been so fcking great this world cup, like he was born again. Honda was a free kick from being the biggest hero ever. And that was a great freekick. A corner later everything is gone. But no one can blame Japan for not trying. Real betis should be happy they bought Inui before the wc. What a player.
hasebe will be almost irreplaceable: yuta nakayama, i know he’s very young but yukinari sugawara yoshida: kashima-combi of shoji and naomichi ueda. unlike previous years we have quite a few promising tall (> 185cm) cbs coming through the system. tomiyasu, itakura etc kawashima: big expectations on kosuke nakamura. the massive influx of korean and european gk have maybe improved the standards but it’s depressing to see where the next generation will come from.
i feel so lucky to have watched these guys at their primes. the heroics in south africa. winning the asian cup. beating argentina in saitama. beating the french in paris. rollercoaster at the confederations cup. if they do retire from the national team in the next weeks i hope they can win more trophies for their european clubs without the distractions and travel. they have so much more left to offer.
I'm just devastated....still Thinking about the players we're losing and 4 years time etc. Lot of good players coming through but now we need a new style of team. Osako is 28 lads, he's no young buck. If he's still relevant in 4 years it'd be surprising.