Japan need a draw at least in the final group game against Indonesia to reach the knockout round
You started as number 10, not on the right wing.
“I thought that a back five would bite me, but unlike my expectations, they played a back four. I was still hoping that I could get in between the lines and turn the ball forward.”
You had some good moments, like when you changed the pace in the penalty area.
“I regret now that I should have been more greedy in that situation for the goal. In the first half, we didn’t have any decent scoring chances. We seemed to be attacking, but couldn’t attack enough in reality, and conceded two goals. It wasn’t a bad game, but we wasted the first half. Their first goal was inevitable, but we should have scored before their second goal was scored.”
Did you feel like you could break them down?
“I didn’t feel like we could break them down, to be honest. We tried to break from both sides, which is one of the features of the current national team, but there were a lot of tall players in the middle, and most of the balls were bounced back, except for the fastball from the near side.”
What was the aim of changing the second row from the second half?
“I think we tried to pass more vertically, but it wasn’t that easy. The coach wanted to put players on the flanks who could break the sides, but I think the opponents knew that. They were an organised team that took care of the space behind when the centre-backs came on.”
Did you feel that the team was shaken by the first goal?
“No, not at all.”
After conceding a goal, how did you plan to attack as a team?
“The opponents worked very hard, and to a certain extent, they had set up blocks in front of the goal. I think we didn’t shoot enough, and we could have shot more boldly. As for myself, I wanted to cross more, to go for the pocket more and to overlap more.”
You have been seldom dribbled past in the Netherlands, but today you were…
“They (Iraq) gave 120% and we prepared accordingly, but there is no doubt that they were simply better than us. It’s just that my lack of ability came out on the pitch. I think it’s my responsibility.”
You had been beaten by Iraq as a youth, how did that affect your performance today?
“I think they have always been a national team with simple tactics. I think that hasn’t changed since then.”
What instructions did the coach give you at half-time?
“We had the ball to a certain extent, but in terms of ideas and combinations in front of the goal, we were just passing the ball around in front of them. So the coach told us that we needed to attack behind the backline, underlap and overlap, and break down their formation. The whole team and the coach talked about holding the ball up well in the remaining 45 minutes without being hasty.”
How does it feel to play against a team that is perceived as a superior team?
“Like Vietnam in the first game, our opponents played as if they were playing in the World Cup. I can sense their high motivation and their desire to win against Japan. I thought it was important to know what kind of football to play and how to behave against such opponents. I think this is an issue for me, so I have to face it carefully.”
Were you told that you were going to start the second half?
“It was probably just before the end of the first half that I was told to play for the second half. But I looked at the situation and thought it would be, so I was warming up on my own. I thought the first half was finishing 0-1. But it got to 0-2 and became quite difficult. Our opponents also became much clearer about what they were going to do.”
The opponents who respect Japan will play with 120% effort.
“Yes, I felt that it was difficult to play in Asia, including the game against Vietnam. As you said, they respect us. Also, once you let them get the momentum, they will get on top of you, including the atmosphere in the stadium. In that sense, the first goal and the second goal were painful.”
It was difficult for you guys to create an offensive move?
“In the first half, we couldn’t create a good rhythm, especially when the second balls were picked up, so it was difficult for us to push in and attack.”
Did you feel better when you came on the left in the second half?
“Well, I didn’t feel the change that much, but I think I was able to break it up with (Hidemasa) Morita and Hiroki (Ito) when I got the ball.”
In the first half, on the other hand, was it difficult for Kubo in the middle and Minamino on the left because they didn’t have a relationship that they had played much?
“I’ve played with Take a few times, and I used to play on Takumi’s left, so it’s not like it was my first time. But Takumi isn’t the type of player who can play from the outside, so in the second half, I think it was good that I could play on the left and Take could play on the right, so Takumi could move inside.”
You had not played in the left with Kubo on the middle in the new team, was it difficult for you?
“I think in the first half we didn’t get the best out of Take and me. Take is an important attacking player in this team, so I wanted to help each other more when he had the ball, but we didn’t get many chances to do that. It wasn’t just the two of us, but maybe as a team, we weren’t very good, so that’s an issue for next time.”
Did things go wrong against a strong one-on-one team like Iraq because you were unfamiliar with the way they play?
“When you have a physically strong opponent who defends hard, it’s not easy. But we knew that, and our game management wasn’t very good. If it had been 0-0, or even 0-1, I think we could have carried the game a bit better in the second half. So, when you concede two goals in a game like that, it’s quite difficult.”
It’s been a long time since you played in a completely hostile environment, so it must have been difficult for you to communicate.
“It’s the same in our normal environment, but there are several ways to show how we play in such situations, and how the team as a whole adjusts once the flow of the game is cut off. So I think it’s very important for the team to tighten up in the areas that need tightening up, to get through this Asian Cup.”
Before the goal, there were times when Kubo drifted to the left and you went inside, but after that, were you playing in a certain position?
“In the first half, I didn’t feel we were able to hold the ball at our own pace, so I thought it would be better not to change positions too much, considering the transition after the ball was taken away from us.”
Japan had only three shots in the first half.
“In the first half, there are parts where I don’t know what was the optimum solution, so I want to review that. One thing is, of course, the shots, and the number of times we came close to scoring were probably less in the first half. I think we had a lot of one-off attacks, so it would have been better if we had more time in possession and could have gone into the second half with the score at 0-1.”
In the second half you became No.10, with Kubo on the right and Ito on the left, did things start to go well?
“Well, it’s a position I’m good at. But from the first half, I wanted to make something happen on the left, so there were some chances when I went inside and Hiroki Ito took a high position.”
This game, including the atmosphere, reminded me of the final World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia, but Japan has changed since then. What can you say from that experience?
“Yes, well, one thing I can say is that the tournament is just one game after another. There wasn’t a single player looking down in the locker today. We know that we must do what we have to do for the next game. Several players survived the last qualifying round, so it’s football and you can lose like this. It’s up to us how we take this and take it to the next.”