[Nazionale di calcio del Giappone/Notizie]In the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, Japan-Croatia ended 1-1 at the end of the 120th minute. Maya Yoshida said after the match.
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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round 16, Japan vs Croatia was held at the 5th local time. After 120 minutes of fierce fighting, Japan finished 1-1 and lost on penalties 1-3, failing to advance to the quarterfinals.
After losing to Belgium in the previous tournament, Maya Yoshida led the team as captain with a goal of reaching the last eight. Though she didn’t hit that target, she squeezed out in a shaky voice, “I think you did a good job.” On the other hand, “It’s frustrating. I wanted to train with everyone tomorrow and I wanted to be with this team as long as possible, but you can’t help it,” she said.
This tournament was a tough group stage in which they coexisted together with the successive champion teams of Germany and Spain. However, pre-war expectations rebounded brightly and the team went into the round of 16 top of the group, keeping the powerful nations at bay.
In the past he seemed to be closest to a top 8, but the result was a knockout in the round of 16 even on his fourth attempt. Regarding the high wall that appears to be passable and cannot be overcome, he said: “I think the whole of Japanese football will start a battle to think about how to overcome it in the next four years.”
However, there are some sides that have grown more than the Russian tournament. As for the long play-off period, “Four years ago, it seemed like it would be difficult if it lasted longer. I believed it was coming, and I thought I was going to have to bear and bear,” he recalled.
Regarding future representation activities, he commented: “I will think about it slowly.” In it, he said, “Football is going to change from now on. There’s no doubt that the intensity will continue to rise. I think people like Itakura and Hiroki Ito will have to,” he said, entrusting his thoughts to his juniors.
