In the Japanese national team's World Preliminary Round roster this time, all 12 players in the midfield are from the Europa League. If it weren't for the absence of the two main centre-backs in the defensive line, Ken Hiroshi Fuan and Ma Yoshida, they could even put up an all-European squad if they wanted to.
In fact, from Kenyo Fuan to Takushi Minamino and Kuyasu on the front line, the central axis of the Japanese men's football team is no longer as simple as traveling in Europe, and they are gradually joining the lineup of European giants. The goal of the Japanese men's football team has never been just a World Cup ticket, but a direct target of the top 8.
01. Fuan Jian Yang became the cornerstone of the revival of the giants: he made Arsenal change
Historically, japan has had Hidetoshi Nakata, who played for Serie A champions Roma, Shinji Kagawa, an attacking organiser for Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, and Keisuke Honda, who left a footprint at AC Milan. At present, Japanese players traveling in Europe has become the norm.
After the end of the summer transfer window in 2021, statistics from the German transfer network show that the number of Japanese players in Europe is as high as 451, of which 250 are playing in the German league. If the Australian Premier League, K League and Mexican League, etc., the total number of Japanese players playing overseas has already exceeded 500.
The hottest name at the moment belongs to the right-back/centre-back swinger Fuan Kenyang who plays for Arsenal in the Premier League. The former Serie A rookie defender adapted quickly after arriving in the Premier League and became the key to changing Arsenal's off-to-back start.
FuAn Jianyang's individual defensive ability is quite reliable, he has both the ability to protect the header at the defensive end, and the level of fighting under his feet is also very good. This time, facing watford attacker Dennis's in-cut attack, Fuan Kenyang easily completed the broken ball.
Fuan Jianyang is called the "eye" of Arsenal's system, not only because of the individual performance of the defensive end, but also because of his role positioning in the offensive and defensive conversion. Arteta's side now tends to use a 235 position when pressing forward in formation to attack. Fuan Jianyang is the position of the adductor right midfielder, coordinating with the double back to organize the attack and complete the interception when the offensive and defensive conversion is completed.
As can be seen from the picture, this time it was Fuan Kenyang who sent the top pass, and then his position has remained in the right midfield. Arsenal pressed forward in attack, it was through Fuan Jianyang to stand firm in the midfield position, to ensure the horizontal output area and the number of second-line counter-grabs on the defensive end. When necessary, Fuan Jianyang can also pull the edge in time to respond and return to the role of right-back.
Fuan Jianyang can be said to be the largest presence in Arsenal's offensive and defensive system. From the right midfielder on the offensive end, to the right back, the right back when defending, and even the right center-back when necessary. Because of his presence, Arteta's tactics can be better balanced.
As can be seen from the statistics, in the match against Watford, Fuan Jianyang contributed 6 steals, 4 clearances and 1 interception in a single game, and also sent 2 key passes to bring shots. Having won 9 head-to-head 1-on-1 matchups, it's hard to imagine an Asian player being so incredibly efficient in the Premier League.
In addition to Kenyo Fuan, the Japanese team also has a number of famous players such as maya Yoshida, an old centre-back who has played in the Premier League and is now playing in Serie A, Yuto Nagatomo, a veteran who has played for Inter Milan in the Champions League, and Hiroki Sakai, who has played in Marseille in Ligue 1 and has directly faced Neymar and Mbappe.
02. One of the best backs in the Bundesliga: team leader Hang Endo
The midfielder has always been the most proud position of the Japanese men's football team, and the leader of this generation, Hang Endo, is the captain of bundesliga side Stuttgart and the team's number one star. In the past year and a half, he has played 53 league games in the Bundesliga (only 1 missed), contributing 4 goals and 5 assists. As you can see from the heat map, Endo is not only a back, but also extremely involved in the offensive end. His success is as high as 66%, while winning 7.5 one-on-one confrontations per game, with a success rate of nearly 60%!
This time against Freiburg this season, he picked up the ball and sent a high-quality cross, helping teammate Garvidi's header to break the goal is very memorable. Stuttgart even showed love directly on its official website: "Team leader Hang Endo! He is the strongest super back in the Bundesliga. ”
His straight ball is a big sight for Stuttgart to launch an attack, extremely penetrating, if it is not for the poor shooting skills of his teammates, Endo Hang should have had more assists in a season.
Endo's biggest feature is not in attack, the extremely fierce style of play on the defensive end is his biggest label. In the past year and a half, he has averaged more than 2 steals, 1.5 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per Game in the Bundesliga, contributing an average of more than 5 successful defenses per game. In the first half of last season, he was even the first in the Bundesliga to steal and the first to succeed in a single-player confrontation, and it's hard to believe that this is what a Japanese player can achieve in the Bundesliga.
This kind of continuous success is what Endo does every game. Stuttgart head coach Mattarazzo even once praised his captain: "We can't imagine a game without Endo, the captain is the key player of the team. ”
Facing the Strong Men of Europe, Endo hangs several times in each game. Such a fierce defensive style became the basis for his fame in the Bundesliga.
03. Takumi Minamino of Liverpool & Real Madrid's Jiujian Ying
The front line has always been the weakest link in the Japanese team, but now their attackers have gradually entered the vision of the European giants. Takumi Minamino, who plays for Liverpool, has scored six goals in all competitions this season, despite being only a substitute for the Red Arrow Trident.
Perhaps many people will only pay attention to the empty goal that Takumi Minamino played when he faced Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final (from the perspective behind the goal, it is true that the flying shot is quite outrageous).
But will anyone remember that Takumi Minamino was really in the Premier League, and the substitute played less than a minute to break arsenal's goal? Under the rotation of Mane and Salah, Arnold assisted the Japanese striker in front of the goal to score.
In the Premier League against Brentford, Takumi Minano celebrated his birthday with a practical goal. The ball came from his aggressive pressing to create opponent errors, and Firmino's high emotional intelligence cross achieved Takumi Mino's second goal in the Premier League this season.
Liverpool have occupied three of the top 20 players in Europe's top 5 leagues this season for expected goals + assists. Takumi Minamino is not ashamed to play as a substitute, and he has been able to score 6 goals in sporadic playing time, thanks in part to Liverpool's ability to create scoring opportunities, and on the other hand, to his own efforts.
Another notable name is The Long Health Care Ying obtained by Real Madrid from Barca. The former outstanding representative of La Masia's youth academy still has a bright future despite being loaned by Real Madrid.
He missed part of the game this season due to injury, only to score a La Liga goal. However, the only goal was to kill last season's La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.
epilogue:
Although Fuan Jianyang has no chance to face the national football team because of injury, such an opponent is probably not something we can expect to defeat. Chinese football should face up to the gap, play its own style at the same time, find the reason for the gap, and strive to get as close to this strong enemy as possible in strength after many years in the future.
(Lust)