Tokyo (AFP)
The Japan Football Association has rewarded national team coach Hajime Moriyasu by extending his contract until 2026, following the ‘Samurai Blue’s’ impressive journey in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
As a result of the two historic victories, he scored against four-time world champions Germany and 2010 champions Spain (with a score of 2-1) and led Group E against the European giants before the end of the season in price final at the hands of Croatia on penalties, Moriyasu earned the honor of being the first Japan national team manager to remain in charge after the World Cup.
In a press conference held in the capital, Tokyo, the 54-year-old coach expressed his happiness to continue his journey with the national team until the 2026 World Cup, saying: “It’s a job that gives me the opportunity to compete on the international scene and I’m proud to be Japanese. That’s why I decided to accept the offer.
Moriyasu, who defended the colors of the national team as a player between 1992 and 1996, was given the job after the 2018 World Cup in Russia, in which he held the role of assistant coach.
In Qatar 2022 he was just around the corner to lead Japan to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, but luck betrayed the players in the penalty shoot-out, who fell into the barrier of Luka Modric and teammates in the Croatian international , after the initial and extra time ended in a 1-1 draw.
Thus, the career of “Blue Samurai” ended at the final price for the fourth time in the seventh participation, and “this is a barrier that we could not overcome, and therefore it can be said that we have not achieved anything new”, according to what the coach said after the defeat against Croatia.
He added: “But the players showed something we hadn’t seen in the past by beating the former national champions of Germany and Spain.”
And since he debuted at the 1998 World Cup with a squad made up entirely of local players, the number of Japanese players in the European leagues has increased, leading to the Qatar finals with 19 players on the field from the old continent, including eight from Germany, which promises a bright future and a chance to get rid of the final price complex In the 2026 Finals hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
