I watched this and it made me think again. This was Nagatomo's reaction to his call up. He was deeply emotional and in tears. We may not agree with this selection but there are positives. Yuto has a wealth of experience, leadership and character. He's Japan's greatest left back and committed to his team, you can't hate that can you? And this squad selection was never down to us, it was down to Moriyasu and his staff so there's nothing we can do about this. We might as well not be too upset, instead we should support everyone in the National team!
Well, that was emotional. Agreed. But I still think maybe as a leader is better. But I will not nag about this anymore hehe.
I believe Nagatomo should be part of Moriyasu's staff. But instead of him as a player on the list, a tall CB like Machida should have been called up.
wow wtf. 4 forwards? I guess Maeda is a jolly but I'm not sure why you would have 4. Idiotic to not have Kodai Sano instead Endo and Nagatomo
I smell a pre-tactic: Moriyasu choose deliberately a weirdo selection to play the low profile and surprise attack the Dutchs as he did with the Germans. Remember our motto: bad pre-WC -> good WC, good pre-WC -> bad WC.
Would a loss to Iceland in Tokyo even be considered a "bad pre-WC" given the fact that they only had 5 losses since the last World Cup?
Saw some comments about Shiogai. Is someone here even watching his games ? He's not starting, but he always plays. In case anyone has forgotten, there isn't another striker in the top 5 leagues, except Machino and he's played more than him recently. (no, I do not count Asano) So... Here's him against Bayern here's him against Eintracht Just as example from recent games. Either way, I guess he or Goto will be last in line, knowing Moriyasu
I don't watch full games but I pay attention to whether players start or get sub minutes, highlights and their impact on the games. Shiogai is a bit of a dark horse and Moriyasu might rely on him and Goto to compensate for no Mitoma. These 2 are not experienced but could be an element of surprise for our opponents.
Shiogai can be a good option to bring from the bench to continue pressing with regards to maintain pressure, when other players are tired. Goto i think should be able to get quite some game time as he is the typical CF target man-kind of player. Can use him when JNT wants to play crosses into the box or hold on the ball at the opponent's final third. Shiogai from what have seen, he always tracks back, drops very deep down and presses alot. And he have the burst of acceleration in him, when he can pop out of nowhere. But i still don't think is really worth it for Nagatomo to occupy a spot as he can just accompany the team like Minamino, etc. Tomiyasu has been injured on and off, and Endo has barely played this season too. Kodai Sano and Morita should have been there at least, with 1 of Sota Kitano/Kuryu Matsuki/Taichi Fukui there since all have high activity rate in the pitch and covers much ground.
100 % agree. The problem with Shiogai is, he is insane but not now. If he has stayed in Nijmegen, he would be probably around 15+ goals now and in a dangerous dangerous form, then he should be 100% in the JNT but now ? I watched many Wolfsburg games, almost every since he joined them and I could say he looks extremely unlucky. Very engaged, maybe a bit to much but he is totally lost on the system and club cause they also looks very lost and without any game plan. And for that it's impossible to nominate him. Maybe he can still deliver but a Kodai Sano would be soooooo much more vital. He could start and do magic, you can bring him later and he can do magic. Cause he is in the ********ing TOTS of the Eredevise. How the hell can you chose Shiogai + Ogawa, so all "Nijmegen" players who are not play or barely play in compare to the one who are Mr. Nijmegen ?
Up front I really have no clue about Shiogai and Goto. Saw the few minutes they played for the NT, that's it. No idea. Ogawa on the other hand I think I saw enough to say that he isn't much, not needed. Goto with his size should be able to play as main striker if Ueda needs a rest (you could also go with a smaller different type of player of course, somebody tell that to Moriyasu) Ogawa is the one I have a problem with up front. One too many called up, that's Ogawa. And for me the guy to call for him was Fujita. 4 defensive midfielders plus Endo. Not 3 plus Endo. Endo called up I can actually understand, even expected it (4+ Endo) Captain, even if not a starter anymore, having him there could be good. And if he gets fit, finds his form, he still is good. Also if he clearly isn't fit, official registration is end of May, Moriyasu could still send him home then if he sees that Endo won't be ready fast enough. Same counts for Suzuki. And Tomiyasu. And actually expected that Moriyasu would call up Mitoma too, but clearly his injury to serious to hope to have him back in time for the first knock-out round. More interesting, who do you start vs the Dutch? Especially the left side, Was Mitoma LWB-Minamino further up, Minamino out and it became Nakamura LWB Mitoma further up? Now? I hope not Maeda at LWB as he tried vs Scotland... Nakamura further up much better too, but then it's Ito/Suzuki/Nagatomo at LWB, I dislike all 3 options. Ito's timing is rather off when playing as LB or LWB, Suzuki too inexperienced, too slow most likely, the few minutes he played there the last friendly didn't convince. And as much as I like Nagatomo... give him 5' in the final when Japan is up 4-0, that's ok. So Nakamura LWB the best option I guess?
Nakamura way playing LWB against England and he was phenomenal. Upfront Ito for Mitoma and that's it. Don't forget we don't have LWB or RWB in our system it's a 3 defense line and the wingbacks are normally LM/RM only in the back move we are switching then back. But do you remember how strong Nakamura and Doan on the other sides were vs England defensive wise ? That's our key. Left: Nakamura and Ito Right: Doan and Kubo. Agreed no Maeda when possible. He is too strong a a striker. I would switch between Goto and Ueda. My feeling said go with Goto cause he is assisting the same rate like he scored and that's a lot but normally if course it will be Ueda. And then bring in Maeda to crush the enemy down with his trendemous speed and pressing till he force to score and score and score. I think Nagatomo on the left and Sugawara on the right is only needed for cover up in the last 15 Minutes when the others get tired. Edit: Okay I see Ito never played for Japan as a pure LWB or LM normally. He could play it often for Club but I guess Moriaysu will not switch him to the left. Hmmm then who is playing there ? Good question and I guess it could only be Maeda upfront and behind him Nakamura ?
This isn't related to Japan but Ancelotti announced Brazil's squad yesterday. Brazil might be a round of 32 opponent and it was interesting to see their players. Neymar was included but they are missing Militao, Estevao and Joao Pedro to name a few. A few of their key players are old and although they have a good squad it's not their best. I think if Japan face Brazil in round is 32 this will be their best chance to beat them
I'm pretty sure Japan would have already beaten Brazil at the last World Cup if it weren't for that ridiculous penalty shootout against Croatia. With that being said, Brazil should not be underestimated even with its aging squad and all those missing players.
Guys... Brazil is JNT's black beast. I know I know, they are not like in the past but still I hope to dodge them as much as possible.
This will be the most unpredictable World Cup to date because of the new format so it's hard to accurately predict who Japan is likely to face in the round of 32. Plus more teams = more opportunities for upsets.
If Japan is number 1 or 2 it most likely will be either Brazil or Morocco. If not something unexpected happens in that group. The thing is if Japan ends at nr 3 in the group they could end up with a much easier opponent. Winner in Group B , could be Switzerland , Bosnia or Canada and Qatar. Winner in Group A , Mexico, South Korea , Chezch Republic, South Africa. Winner in Group D, Usa, Paraguay, Turkey and Australia Winner in Group I, France, Norway, Senegal , Iraq. Winner in Group E, Germany, Ivory Coast, Equdor, Curacao. So as you see ending as nr 3 could be easier. But also a terrible draw. So there is really no reason to safe play here for many reasons.
Throwback time! Daichi Kamada is going to play in the Conference League final so he will join Japan later and miss the Iceland friendly. Maya Yoshida will take his place and join the team only for the Iceland friendly