Japan’s thoughts after the Indonesia match: “I think it wasn’t just about getting through the group stage, it was a game for the future” – Takehiro Tomiyasu

Takehiro Tomiyasu / Arsenal

Did you let the attacking players go forward with your voice and your performance?

“If defenders don’t tell the players in front with confidence that they can go, then inevitably we won’t get any momentum as a team, and we won’t get any confidence. That’s why defenders had to show their attitude and get heard our voice that it was good to go. I think Machi-kun (Koki Machida) and I did a good job of that.”

The whole team was compact today.

“I think it should be said that we returned to our basic. We didn’t do what we should have done against Vietnam and Iraq. In good times, the whole team is compact, and today the objective was to do what we need to do well and focus on ourselves. I think there are a lot of positives in this match in that respect.”

Your one-touch pass to (Ritsu) Doan led the second goal.

“If Ritsu had skipped defensive duty and had stayed far away, he wouldn’t have been unmarked. Ritsu is seen as a quality attacker, but he never slackens in defence either. He was able to be unmarked when attacking because he took the right position when defending.”

In your press conference the day before, you implied that the players need the mindset to smash the opposition.

“After the two games, we discussed that we should focus on ourselves rather than the opponents. We said we weren’t doing what we should do, so the results and contents didn’t match up. In today’s game, we had to concentrate on ourselves and express what we can and should do. That’s how we got the result, so I think it wasn’t just about getting through the group stage, it was a game for the future.”

Ritsu Doan / Freiburg

It seems the link-up plays with the full-backs were good both offensively and defensively.

“I think that is the basics. So if you assess like that, I think it shows how bad the last two games have been. It’s not like I was good (today), it’s more like that the previous games weren’t good. If all players can produce their quality, I think games like today should be regarded as the norm. The players who haven’t played (in the tournament) were able to express themselves on the pitch to be a catalyst, and once again I felt the quality of the players who came on. Takumi (Minamino), Junya (Ito) and others were reliable. As I stood on the pitch, I thought once again that we are a team that should win this tournament.”

It was great how Japan pressed the opponents at the World Cup last year.

“That’s exactly right. How did we press the opponents? Why don’t we do the same at this tournament? Of course, in the Asian Cup, you need more attacking tactics when you have the ball, but before that, what worked well in the World Cup was our persistence in defence and our counter-attacking after winning the ball. I think we played a good game as a result of expressing the basics.”

You said you wanted to concentrate on the game one by one.

“We should show everything we have and see whether the result would be 1-0, 3-0, 5-0 or 1-1. If you think about winning before the game and play at 80 per cent, you can’t win. I think that would be the expression ‘we underestimate Asian opponents’. But today, after the game, everyone said it was tough. People might say that we could have beaten them if we didn’t give 100%, but that’s not the case.”

Ayase Ueda / Feyenoord

Did the team get the momentum after you scored from the penalty spot early in the game?

“I had a lot of detailed discussions with Ritsu (Doan). I think we were able to do exactly what we talked about. I was able to receive the pass before the penalty kick and I think it will come one after the other. I think it was a significant goal.”

Yesterday, Tomiyasu said he wanted to “take the initiative in pressing and to do that hard”.

“I think the attacking players can bring momentum to the team, both in attack and defence. The way we started the game was an issue for us and I thought we needed to press highly to improve our game.”

Takefusa Kubo / Real Sociedad

You lost the ball many times, which is unusual for you. Did the pitch affect that?

“I think it’s hard to tell when you watch it from outside, but the ball did get jammed. Regardless of the pressure from the opponents, the turf pitch it difficult for me to hold the ball up well. I wanted to touch the ball more, but with the pitch, I should have left the ball a bit quicker.”

Did Tomiyasu give instructions like a commander on the pitch?

“When Tomiyasu tells me to go, I have to go, so the attacking players get tired haha. He has seen Japan didn’t press hard in the previous games, so I’ve heard him from the back many times telling us to go. It’s just the obvious thing to say, but it’s good to have someone other than the captain saying it from the back.”

You succeeded in qualifying for the knockout stage.

“The first thing is that we’re happy to have made it to the knockout round for now. We don’t know who we’ll be up against, but I don’t think there will be any easy games. We will probably hold the ball more often, so we need to be careful with the opponents’ long balls so they don’t pick up the second ball like they did in the first and second games. We’ve already suffered a lot, so we want to do our best. Also, everyone’s condition is gradually improving and we have six days to prepare for the next game, so we want to prepare well.”

Reo Hatate / Celtic

What did you pay attention to in the way you started the matches?

“We had a bad start in the last two games, so we talked about defending from the front. In the first 15 minutes, we overpowered them and it was like we wanted to keep going. I think it was great that we were able to keep the momentum.”

Did you personally want to achieve tangible results?

“Yes, I wanted to record an assist or a goal. But it is more important to win as a team. We also wanted to dominate the game in terms of content, and I think we were able to express that.”