If there is locker room drama between the players, coaches, sponsors, etc. this World Cup will be a disaster.
the managers of the other countries (with more or equal depth as us) seem to have no problem picking players from these leagues.
Yes, there is a consensus on the rejection of Nakajima's exclusion. I think that if Nishino and his staff have a look at JFA's tweet in which they announce the squad they will be ashamed of their selves.
It's been a while since i watched Japan's game. Is there any improvement on the defense since last world cup? Are there any good CB and DM?
I just hope there will be a tabula rasa after WC - both in the offices and on the field - and we'll start again with a new group for Asian Cup, with all these young talented lads, both in Europe and J. League.
note that Ponte is now technical director at Nakajima's club - his annoyance is understandable. interesting that he confirmed the "official interest from big clubs" reported previously in the media.
If those old chaps like Teguramori (he had much better squad in Rio than Sekizuka did in London) and Moriyasu (who only trained ONE team in his entire coaching career) think they know better, then let them try. After all it will be Nishino discharged from JFA, not them. And this is sick.
Wow, no Nakajima (best japanese player in Europe this season, was called recently for the first time and did prove effective scoring against Mali) , No Ritsu Doan (Ok he is young, but hey, he has some international tournaments experience and a great sense of adaptation, not failing where 60% of the japanese players do fail) , no Yuya Kubo (scored two crucial goals for qualifications,) No Morishige, No Ito, no Morioka and many players who were not even starters for months in their respective clubs... I don't see such Japanese team going any far in this tournament... May Mr Nishino prove me wrong...
My expected lineup from Nishino (world cup, not Ghana) Kawashima Sakai - Makino* - Yoshida - Nagatomo Yamaguchi* - Hasebe Honda - Kagawa - Inui* Muto* ... that's assuming he goes 4-2-3-1 in the first place * these are my only doubts personally. I don't really know which CB he wants, nor which CM he prefers with Hasebe. Would be crazy to see Haraguchi or Usami for Inui but I wouldn't be completely suprised. The forward is also a good gamble between Muto, Okazaki and Osako. Or maybe he's another crazy one that sees Muto as a winger. btw, here's Nakajima at an Adidas' event (he does wear Adidas). The same Adidas that is official sponsor of the national team. ＼adidas WORLD CUP DAY 2018 開催／#中島翔哉、#宇佐美貴史、#川又堅碁 がステージに登場🙌"スプリントスパイク"を使った短距離走がこの後スタート🏃♂️💨@adidasFTB_jp pic.twitter.com/XU8K8yVgpy— GOAL Japan (@GoalJP_Official) May 20, 2018
What has Yamaguchi done to always be included in the starting 11? I like your line up, expect from 2,3 players. I wanna see Okazaki.
Which expectations should we have with a lineup similar to WC2014 Zac Japan but with older and weaker players? This is as realisitc as sad.
I think Nishino will go: Kawashima Yoshida, Hasebe, Makino Sakai Shabasaki, Yamaguchi, Nagatomo Usami/Honda, Osako/Okazaki,Inui/Kagawa
I can't wait for the game, the new coach. Ever since around 2012 it's felt like it's been hard to feel inspired by the team. This national team, and Japan as my birth country was properly was one of the few things I loved and cared about in high school. My idols were guys like Shunsuke Nakamura, and Yuji Nakazawa but it didn't matter if it were those two or if it were people who could barely score like Kisho Yano. Every JNT player was a hero to me, because back then it looked like it meant so much to those players. The 2011 Asian Cup which I attended in Qatar chronologically was the month between finishing high-school and starting medical school. Represented a new chapter in my life and seeing Japan win in the final at Khalifa Stadium against Australia with Tadanari Lee's strike is still up there in some of the greatest moments of my life. The last 4 years have been largely painful to watch. The confidence and pride in the NT has been lost and the players majority of the time look like they don't give a crap. The style of play was rubbish and other than the very rare occasion (such as the 2-0 win on Australia) the team looked lost. I'm delighted Akira Nishino is coach and hope that whatever results come at least that they play in a way more true to the Japan National Team.
Rumored now that Moriyasu will take over for both the senior and U23 teams after Nishino. What an atrocious failure of governance.
The whole thing smacks of Tashima's desire to consolidate power by excising dissenting voices and assembling a council of groupthinking yes-men in the national team setup. His distasteful "All Japan" comment in the previous press conference and now settling on an unemployed J-League coach as senior NT manager...wtf.
Lots of negativity here, and obviously Nakajima and Morioka deserves to be in the squad based on their performance this season ( Doan and Kubo too maybe, but I'd rather see the first 2). But let's take a look at the squad. Kawashima, Higashiguchi, Nakamura Nagatomo, Makino, Yoshida, H. Sakai, G. Sakai, Shoji, Endo, Ueda Hasebe, Aoyama, Honda, Inui, Kagawa, Yamaguchi, Haraguchi, Usami, Shibasaki, Oshima, Misao, Ideguchi Okazaki, Osako, Muto, Asano 4 players will be omitted, which I believe (and hope) will be among the following: Asano Haraguchi Ueda Misao Oshima -------------- GK and DF looks ok, and I haven't heard anyone complain there as Japan simply doesn't have anyone better than the ones selected. Morishige maybe, and the 2 Naka's( Nakayama and Nakatani) at Reysol have also been mentioned but they are still too young and too raw imho. A couple of years down the line maybe, and they will be ready. DM: Hasebe, Aoyama, Yamaguchi, Shibasaki, Oshima and Ideguchi are the names here which sounds to me like a couple of names too many ( so maybe one of these will be omitted instead of Asano/Haraguchi). Hasebe is a shoe-in for one of the spots, and I would like to see Shibasaki besides him although he hasnt seen much playing time lately. If not Shibasaki, Yamaguchi is as good a choice as any of the others. If Ideguchi were playing regularly I would have preferred him though. AM: Honda, Inui, Kagawa, Haraguchi, Usami This is where most people are pissed off. I'm not sure if Haraguchi and Usami deserves to be here, and Nakajima and Morioka would have been more exciting players. But Honda, Inui and Kagawa should definitely be there, and especially Inui and Kagawa needs to be in the starting lineup. Kagawa have actually had a pretty good season ( 2nd half of the season atleast) before he got injured, and he might the kind of player that will blossom under a new, more offensive-minded coach. Inui as well NEEDS to play, and if nothing else, Honda atleast adds physique, strength and experience to this team which is more important than what people here seems to believe. FW: Okazaki and Muto needs to be here. Osako is the kind of player that couldn't even score in brothel as his finishing skills is utterly horrible, but his post-play and movement is fairly good and depending on how Nishino want's to play he might be a good fit in a 4-4-2 formation. I wouldn't rely on him to score goals though. Asano however, hasn't showed a single thing that justifies him deserving to play in Russia. --------- But really, what's the big fuzz? There's a couple of players that have done well lately that probably deserves to be there instead of some of the others. But that's not something new, and definitely not something just related to Japan. Show me ANY national team whose final selection ahead of a major tournament doesn't stir some kind of controversy based on players being included/omitted. Look at England. or France. or Belgium. To name 3 teams who recently named their final selection and which caused a helluva lot more controversy than this selection made by Nishino. To call JFA corrupt, hint about Adidas and other sponsors making the selections etc is so far out there that the ones who make those claims seriously need to sit down and relax.
It honestly seems like a similar thing that happened to the USA. When they first started playing at World Cups they were very happy to be there, but after becoming regulars they have lost that "happy to be there" feeling.
Ito has been nominated for the Bundesliga rookie of the season yet guys like Asano made it to the roster. https://www.bundesliga.com/de/bunde...agadou-rookie-des-jahres-tag-heuer-voting.jsp
Well, that's the thing isnt it? He's a rookie. Not taking anything away from his performance, as I also believe he's a much more exciting player than the likes of Asano and Haraguchi. But do we really want Japan to send a bunch of rookies with no or very limited international experience ( both for club and national team)? To include some of these players would make a lot of sense, but in any case only a few of them would see any playing time anyway. But this is the attacking lineup some of you wants to see it seems: Ito - Doan - Nakajima Morioka (he's not a striker, but using it as an example) Do you honestly think that if Japan fielded that quartet up front,who combined got less than 5 caps to their name, will do a better job than for example the one below? Inui - Kagawa - Honda/Okazaki Muto No way. However, if we were to end up with something like this I would be worried but we all know that's not gonna happen anyway: Haraguchi - Usami - Honda Osako ----------- It's not the first time there is a huge cry to get some of the younger players included in the team. Remember there was a big deal about Seiichiro Maki for the World Cup 2006 as well. A largely unproved, young striker that came off 1-2 good seasons for JEF, but the whole country (or media at least) demanded him to play. He started against Brazil in that WC, but is probably one of the most forgettable strikers that has ever played for Japan in a major tournament and it's safe to say in hindsight that everyone who demanded him to play missed the target on that one. But then again, Kagawa were left out of the WC 2010, and Nakamura for WC 2002 so these things can go both ways. But since those are actually the best performances Japan have ever done in a WC, it might be wrong to critiscise Okada and Troussier for that. But to think that the likes of Morimoto and Kisho Yano were selected ahead of Kagawa in 2010 makes me cringe...
lol even taking Kakitani would be better than the likes of Usami or Asano at this point then. btw what happened to Uchida? thought he moved back to J-league for regular playing time and when fit (big IF), hes definitely a nice fullback to have even though after his injuries he might not be a NT calibre starter anymore.