I saw the first game, yet to see the second. Ito was MVP and Tanaka also was pretty good. Overall the team played well.
Tanaka was MVP of day 1 Anyway Mitoma is a tremendous player. Shouldn’t take long for him to be in the full NT, as a matter fact, he should be playing the Copa America instead of some others.
Several big clubs sent scouts to this tournament: https://www.laprovence.com/actu/spo...les-scouts-europeens-deja-au-rendez-vous.html
If it is about potential, then yes, he should be in Copa America squad, but don’t forget that he dug himself into this hole by performing badly during last year’s Asian Games which made him overlooked from the Copa America. I think all of the players in this Toulon tournament are trying to give their all as they try to get into the main squad of next year’s Olympics after being overlooked from Copa America.
Nothing wrong with the talent either, but the lack of scoring is always a problem. The game yesterday sums it up on every level of japanese soccer.
Seiya Nakano would be a naughty suggestion. Anyway, at the Olympics you can call three over-aged players. Who knows...
Japan will face the runners-up of Group C (Mexico) on Wednesday in the semifinals, while Brazil will face Republic of Ireland.
Japan made it to the final of Toulon tournament for the first time in their 14th participation. They won on penalties 5-4 against Mexico after a 2-2 draw, in which they came twice from behind, as the coach used an experimental line-up. Their best performances before this in the tournament was in 2002 (Matsui and Yamada - Athens Generation) in which they finished at 3rd place, with Daisuke Matsui attracting the eyes of French scouts and secured a transfer to France from nowhere. Next was in 2008 (Beijing Generation) in which they finished 4th.
Finally, they won on penalties against a team like Mexico. Hopefully, they can grow mentally to surpass the likes of Honda, Kagawa, etc.
Winning while playing bad is a strength lol. Korea won against Japan in the U-20 but imo Japan were the better team over the 90 mins.
No, at this level, winning is not everything like i've said before. SK having a crazy tournament winning every matches with less than 0.6 xG, it's okay if they're OK with that, but i myself wouldn't be happy with that Solskjaer-esque luck mixed nicely with Pulis-esque football.
Luck is one thing, tactics is another. Mourinho, Simeone and a lot of other famous Italian coaches like Trappatoni, etc. are known to be defensive-oriented but they always win games this way. I don't think it is simply luck pljs they actually have 2 less dags of rest than Japan in that match.
Well, if you called a hoofing all the ball to LKI is called tactics, then its up to you. There's a reason why Solskjaer excellent run, result wise, comes to an end, and it's difficult for United to recover the same result as his early stint. All of that coaches you mention do have a legit gameplan, not mere defending and hoping for some random counterattacking opportunity or waiting your opposition to tire themself like Kageyama did. I like at how Japan pressed and organize themself at this WC, but Kageyama's game management ruins everything. Well, team set up is one thing and game management is another btw.
Well, you have a point. I really hope that Japan can produce better coaches as well, not just players. Hopefully, Honda and Hasebe can become coaches and contribute to the JFA from their overseas experience.
i'm also looking for it. The lineup: Obi Ominami Okazaki Tanaka S. Naganuma Koh Tanaka A. Funaki Iwasaki Hatate Ogawa Mitoma on the bench -_-