[Japan National Soccer National Team Expected Starting Lineup]In the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 quarterfinals, Iran and Japan will play against each other on February 3rd.
The Japanese national team will face the Iranian national team in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023. It will be a face-to-face meeting with an opponent who has a gorgeous lineup of members, but what are the key points to overcome this difficult point?[Interview and text by Ryohei Hayashi]
■Top-level players in each position
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A big hurdle has come. Two days after their victory against the Bahrain national team, they will face Iran, their “fated opponent” (Takumi Minamino). The match against a formidable opponent, which comes at the most difficult time in this tournament, will be the crux of the victory.
Iran, which topped Group C and defeated the Syrian national team in the first round of the final tournament, is one of Asia’s most talented teams. Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, who was sent off in the match against Syria, will be absent due to suspension, but ace striker Sardar Azmoun is currently playing for Roma.
Other players include Karim Ansarifald, who is likely to replace Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who plays with Kiyo Ueda at Feyenoord, and Mehdi Ghaedi, who has excellent breakthrough ability and makes his presence felt wide, and plays at Brentford in the Premier League. There are top-level players in each position, including midfielder Saman Ghodos. There is no doubt that this is a team that needs to be more cautious than ever, as if they easily show an opening, they could lose a goal in an instant.
However, as Minamino says, “Compared to the last time we played against each other (in the 2019 Asian Cup semifinals, which Japan won 3-0), I get the impression that there hasn’t been a surprising change in generations.” is rising. While there are many older players, there are few fresh young players, and considering Japan’s growth in recent years, they are by no means lagging behind. While it is expected that the opponent will “go head-on” (Takehiro Tomiyasu), Japan will maintain a compact team as a whole and maintain an aggressive stance in attack, as they did in the match against Bahrain, and will defeat Iran. I want to destroy it.
■Mito: “He’s improved enough to be a starter.”
(C)GOAL
One key point for the team is how to think about the situation on the second day of middle school. In addition to the busy schedule, Reo Hatate was absent due to injury during the match against Bahrain. Junya Ito also left the team, making the composition of the team difficult. Among them, the one I want to pay attention to is Kaoru Mitoma. If Mitoma, who says he’s “advanced enough to be a starter,” can be on the pitch from the start, he should be able to add depth to the attack on the left side. Furthermore, if marks gather against Mitoma, space will be created in other areas, which will create new variations in attacks.
The only thing left to do is to be able to skillfully advance the match while keeping an eye on the development of the game. Unlike Japan, Iran fought until the penalty shootout in the round of 16, and as Kiyo Ueda points out, it is clear that “if we play for 120 minutes, we can think that we will have an even greater advantage.” Of course, we will try to finish the match from the start, but we also need to keep fighting without getting anxious, thinking that even if the match goes scoreless, it will still work in our favor.
“I want to take action and advance the game as I have been doing since the beginning, and I think that would be very unpleasant for the opponent.However, even if the game ends 0-0 or 0-1, If we keep playing without rushing, chances will probably come by themselves.As we play for 90 and 120 minutes, I think our advantage will grow as time goes on.Including that game plan, things didn’t go well in the beginning. I think it’s important to keep going and not get anxious in order to increase your chances of winning.” (Wataru Endo)
There is no doubt that it will be a tough match, even considering the level of fatigue. By showing a fighting spirit that outdoes their opponents and outperforming them tactically, they pave the way to the semi-finals. The match is scheduled to kick off at 20:30 on the 3rd, Japan time.
2024-02-03 05:14:45
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