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SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) played against Thailand National Team at the TOYO TIRES CUP 2024 held at the National Stadium in Tokyo on January 1st (Monday, holiday). With a goal rush in which they scored five points in the second half, they won the first match of 2024 with a 5-0 victory, extending the Japanese national team’s winning streak in international A matches to nine, the highest ever.
Ahead of the opening of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, where Japan aims to win for the first time in three tournaments, 61,916 people turned out for the first national match at the National Stadium on New Year’s Day, with Ryotaro Ito in the starting lineup. We used a fresh combination of players, including three players making their national team debuts: Sint-Truiden VV), Tadashi Okunuki (1.FC Nürnberg), and Yoya Fujii (Nagoya Grampus).
The lineup is 4-2-3-1, with Shindai Hosoya (Kashiwa Reysol) at the top, Junya Ito (Stade Reims), Ito, and Okunuki in the second row from the right, with Kaishu Sano as a midfielder. (Kashima Antlers) and Aoi Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf), and the final line from the right is Seiya Makuma (Cerezo Osaka), Fujii, Hiroki Machida (Union Saint-Giroise), and Tatsuya Morishita (Nagoya). Grampus), and the goalkeeper is Ayane Suzuki (Sint-Truiden VV).
In the first half, it was difficult to cooperate with each other due to the unfamiliar face-to-face, and there were times when we were unable to attack due to the tenacity of the Thai national team who solidified their defense. The players got involved and created chances from the right side.
In the 13th minute of the first half, Ito combined with Hosoya to create a scene where he cut into the penalty area, and in the 22nd minute, Hosoya dropped a vertical pass and Ito aimed for a shot, and in the 30th minute, Maikuma’s vertical pass Ito received the pass, evaded two opposing defenders and the goalkeeper, and fired a shot in front of the goal, creating a scene where the opposing defender jumped in and blocked it.
After that, Hosoya headed Ito’s cross in the 41st minute, and immediately after that, Tanaka threatened the opponent’s goal with a mid-range shot, but the opponent’s goalkeeper made a save and they were unable to cross the line.
Japan ended the first half tied at 0-0, and brought on Ritsu Doan (SC Freiburg) and Keito Nakamura (Stade Reims) at the start of the second half. Immediately after that, in the 51st minute, Ito received a pass from Doan on the right side of the penalty area and passed it in front of the goal. Tanaka, who was in front of the goal, caught the ball that hit an opposing defender and took the lead with his right foot.
In the 68th minute, they sent off Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco) and Souta Miura (Ventforet Kofu), who was making his first international appearance, and immediately after that, Minamino threatened the opponent’s goal with a shot from the right side.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Nakamura’s vertical pass was turned back to Sano on the left side of the penalty area, and Minamino took a shot in front of the goal. It was stopped by the opposing goalkeeper, but Nakamura converted the rebound to make it 2-0. Nakamura scored his fifth goal in four consecutive games.
Gaining momentum, Japan’s attack became more active as time passed, and from then on they began to push their opponents, and in the 74th minute, Hosoya headed home Doan’s corner kick, inviting an own goal from the opposing defender. Japan scores 3-0.
In the 78th minute of the second half, Yuse Sugawara (AZ Alkmaar) and Takumu Kawamura (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) were brought on to further increase their attack.
In the 82nd minute, Miura came up the left side and swung to the right, where Sugawara collected the ball and passed it to Doan. Sugawara received Doan’s pass and sent a cross, which was headed by Kawamura who attacked in front of the goal. This shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, but he headed the ball home to make it 4-0. Kawamura scored his first goal in his debut match for the national team.
The fifth goal came in added time in the second half. Minamino, who had hit several close shots, attempted a one-two pass with Doan, received the ball that hit the opposing defender, cut in front of the goal, caught the space of the opposing defense, and scored with his right foot. .
Japan will feature five players who will be playing for the first time, including those who came on as substitutes. They took 24 shots in 90 minutes, limiting Thailand to six shots and winning. With their third straight win with five points, they set a new national team record of nine consecutive wins, dating back to last June’s Kirin Challenge Cup 2023 against El Salvador.
After the match against Thailand, the tournament squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 will be announced, and the team will prepare for the Asian tournament which begins on January 12th. In the group stage of the tournament, they will play against Vietnam on Sunday, January 14th, Iraq on Friday, January 19th, and Indonesia on Wednesday, January 24th.
Coach/player comments
Supervised by Yasuichi Mori SAMURAI BLUE (Japan representative)
I heard that Ishikawa Prefecture was hit by an earthquake. I would like to express my sympathies to those affected by the disaster. I pray that everyone is safe and that the damage that disrupts daily life is minimized. Looking at the situation of the disaster, if there is anything we can do, we would like to take action for the people who are suffering on the ground.
For the match, we had many supporters come to the National Stadium on New Year’s Day to cheer us on, and we were grateful that they created an atmosphere that encouraged the players to take on challenges. appreciate. The Thai national team was also fighting tenaciously, so they were unable to break open the gap at first, but the players persistently and tenaciously tried to score many times and played positively, leading to fatigue and exhaustion from the opponents. This led to five points in the second half. Since we were a rapidly growing team, I thought it would be difficult for us to function smoothly, but from practice on, the players communicated on and off the pitch about what the team needed to do and how they could bring out the best in each other. I believe this led to this victory. We made some mistakes here and there, but the coaches gave us good advice on offense and defense during practice, and we were able to recognize each player’s role and continue working as a team. In the first half, the players tried to steal the ball from higher positions, but they also extended their efforts to give space to the opponents, increasing the number of attacks they made, and their own pace was never disrupted. The players were patient and helped us make adjustments, so I would like to praise them for that. Today’s match made me realize once again that if we want to win the Asia Cup and win against the world’s top opponents, we need to be more patient on defense and hone the ball.
MF/FW #7 Ryotaro Ito (Sint-Truiden VV/Belgium)
To be honest, I wanted to play a little more, but I wasn’t able to produce results in the 45 minutes I was given, so today wasn’t a good day. Our coordination wasn’t very good, and we were playing in a situation where we weren’t sure which position I wanted to play in, or which position the opponent wanted to play in, so I felt like there was a lot more room for improvement. As an attacking player, I think I have to be particular about results and numbers, and even though I’m playing in the Belgian league, I feel like if I don’t put up overwhelming numbers, I won’t be able to survive on the national team.
MF/FW #8 Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco/France)
I wanted to score a goal to start the new year on a good note, so I was able to score and was like “Okay.” He wasn’t worried about not scoring goals. We had more chances in the second half, and the opponent was slowly starting to show fatigue in front of the goal, so I thought we had a chance. There were three (unfortunate shots) in today’s game, and Nakamura converted one, but we have to be particular about (scoring), and even in the Asian final qualifiers, we had three shots in the first half. In an evenly matched game, whether players who were substituted in the second half were able to make decisions is very important in terms of how the game progresses. I would like to improve it.
MF/FW #11 Masahiro Hosoya (Kashiwa Reysol)
It was my first time playing 90 minutes for the national team, so I was happy, but the biggest thing for me was that my team won. In the first half, we were forcing our opponents into the match and there wasn’t much space, so I tried to think of ways to receive the ball a few times, but I think we could have created a few more chances. I think if we improve our quality (requirements to bring in players, etc.), we will be able to get more balls. (In the scene where we were involved in the third goal) We had a lot of set plays in the first half, but we couldn’t score, so we were given instructions at halftime, and we talked about trying to attack the near area in the second half. . I think it came together well. I think I did a little better today in terms of my post play and pass selection after passing, but I’m looking forward to seeing how I can fit in when the level rises, so I hope to continue being selected for the national team. I am thinking.
MF/FW #13 Keito Nakamura (Stade Reims/France)
We knew that the tie would end in a draw, and we also knew that things would be difficult if we didn’t score the first goal. It was 0-0 in the first half, so the opponent had to win at any cost, so I think it was good that we were able to step up the game in the second half and score one point early on. I was lucky that the ball happened to spill over there when I scored. (Including today’s goal, which I’ve scored in a row in four games) All of my goals so far have been from inside the penalty area, but I’ve been conscious of getting in there, so I’m glad it turned out the way it did. The French league is more competitive than our opponent today, and we’ve been playing under that intensity, so I thought we should just play with that feeling. We were able to get one win today as we prepare for the Asia Cup, so we want to improve even more from now on.
MF/FW #14 Junya Ito (Stade Reims/France)
In the first half, we were able to create some chances even though the opponent made solid blocks and defended, so I think if I had been able to create those chances properly, things would have been much easier. We continued to have some difficult moments, but I’m glad that our fresh players were able to score in the second half and win. I think there were some good plays by players who were playing for the first time today and players with less experience, so I hope that the success of new players will stimulate the team and create competition. It’s an honor to wear the captain’s armband, so I was happy. We got off to a good start today, hoping to win the Asia Cup. I want to prepare well for the tournament.
MF/FW #17 Aoi Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf/Germany)
It was a game where we had to score a lot of points from the first half, but I think it was a very positive thing that we were able to score five points. I was always aiming to score points. It hit my opponent and spilled over, but I was able to stay calm and score the goal. Over 60,000 people came and created a great atmosphere, so I’m really glad we won.
MF/FW #20 Tasushi Okunuki (1.FC Nuremberg/Germany)
I wanted to add a little more gimmicks. I felt like I could have been a little more aggressive because I was more focused on doing well than trying too hard and getting caught. I was told to stay strong in the front, but the players who have been on the national team have been doing well on the right side, so I thought we could work together a little better on the left. I spoke with Morishita, but I wish I had talked more with the midfield players. I think coordination was an issue, so I needed to communicate more to the players around me about where I was going to receive the ball, how I wanted to coordinate, and how I wanted to play as a team. think. I felt that I needed to get my players to understand my play and receive the ball from better positions more often.
Masatada Ishii Thailand national team coach
It was a great experience for us to compete at the National Stadium on New Year’s Day. I’m really grateful that more supporters came than I expected. Although we suffered a crushing defeat, our players did not give up no matter how many points they scored and continued to challenge from the front, and I am proud of that. I had been watching the Japanese national team on TV, but when I saw them on the pitch, I could feel the precision and speed of their plays, and realized how much of a difference there is between them and Japan. I would like to connect this to the next battle. In the Asian Cup, we have to play in a way that will get us points, so we will go back to Thailand and practice for a few days to see how far we can improve our tactical aspects in offense and defense. In today’s match, we saw an aggressiveness from the players that we don’t normally see in Thailand, so we want to prepare to bring out that ability.
January 1, 2024 (Monday/Holiday) 14:00 Kickoff (scheduled) vs Thailand National Team
Venue: Tokyo/National Stadium
Click here for tournament information
2024-01-02 04:29:53
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