Chinese Herald Topic of the week
Author: Yang Wenkai
The world-awaited World Cup in Qatar will kick off on November 21. This is the first time that the World Cup has been hosted by a Middle Eastern country, and it is scheduled to be held in November-December to avoid the effects of a hot and dry climate; This is also the first global football event since the spread of the new crown epidemic, and will be the touchstone for the world to return to daily life in the post-pandemic era.
From November 21 to December 18, a sleepless month will attract the attention of the world and touch the hearts of hundreds of millions of people. This is a long-lost world carnival, the scenes of the past are as precious as a few treasures, and the silence of the past three years makes people want to welcome and rest unfamiliar. The pandemic will still rise in autumn and winter, and the passion on the green field has surpassed the threat of the virus and is bound to become a major theme in the early winter of 2022.
Japan is one of the six Asian teams participating in the 2022 World Cup, including Qatar (host), Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia. On November 1, Japan was the first to announce the 26-man squad for all 32 of the World Cup, a full 14 days ahead of the FIFA deadline. Head coach Hoichi Mori confidently said that the early announcement of the roster can stabilize the morale of the army and allow the inductees to enter the World Cup earlier. There is no suspense in the Japanese team's roster, 20 of the 26 players play in the European league, and only 3 of the remaining 6 local players have no experience in Europe, and the "blue samurai" Japanese team has achieved "leaving Asia and entering Europe", and its World Cup squad is like a European team. Is this Japanese team full of new energy worth looking forward to? From history to reality, it is remarkable.
1. Since reaching the World Cup for the first time in 1998, the Japanese team has qualified for the World Cup seven times in a row, with stable results and leading Asia. The road to World Cup qualification has not been easy, but the Japanese team's star-studded appearance, overall strength has been continuously improved, and the reserve talent pool has become increasingly rich, ensuring that the Japanese team has become a proper World Cup regular.
Japan made their debut at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where they were in the same group as Argentina, Jamaica and Croatia, losing all three games and finishing out of the group, finishing 31st among all participating teams. In the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the Japanese team, as the host, participated again, and under the leadership of stars such as Hidetoshi Nakata and Junichi Inamoto, they qualified second in the group, losing to Turkey in the 1/8 final, stopping at the round of 16; In 2006, Japan was in the same group as Brazil, Croatia and Australia, and was eliminated with only one point in the three rounds of the group stage.
After three World Cups and a strong emphasis on youth training, the Japanese team has significantly improved its strength and gradually become a strong contender for a place in the group. In the 2010 World Cup, under the leadership of star Keisuke Honda, Japan won 2 wins and 1 loss in 3 group games, completed the second group stage breakthrough in team history, and finally lost to Paraguay on penalties in the 1/8 final. In the 2014 World Cup, Japan was in the same group with Colombia, Ivory Coast, Greece and other physical confrontation teams, and finally drew 1 and lost 2 groups. In the 2018 World Cup, Japan won 1 win, drew 1 and lost 1 in the group stage. They met star-studded Belgium in the knockout stages, with Japan leading 2-0 at one point until the end of the match was defeated by the European Red Devils, but the strenuous match gave Japan wide acclaim for daring to play against a strong team.
So far, Japan has qualified from the group three of its six World Cups, with a best record in the round of 16, making it the Asian team with the best World Cup record.
Second, the luxury of the nascent Japanese team is admirable, and it also reflects the heavy strength. The coaching philosophy of Japanese coach Hoichi Mori is "from good defense to excellent offense", and Mori Hoichi values the continuity of player form and team discipline the most. In the 26-man squad of the Japanese national team, there are basically players who fit the philosophy of Mori Hoichi.
In the 26-man squad announced by the Japanese national team, 6 players (Eji Kawashima, Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Hiroshi Endo, Takeshi Shibasaki) participated in the 2018 World Cup, and the remaining 20 are all new forces who appeared in the World Cup for the first time. Compared with four years ago, the last World Cup squads, including Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Kan and Makoto Hasebe, have faded out of the national team, replaced by new generation players such as Takumi Minamino, Junya Ito and Hisayasuhide. Meanwhile, only six players are from the home J-League, the remaining 20 are European players, and 13 players play in Europe's top five leagues. In recent years, more and more Japanese players have landed in European football, not only to study in Europe, but also to play as the main force and star of the team, helping to improve the level of Japanese football.
At present, the luxury of the Japanese team is manifested in the fact that there are multiple high-level players to choose from in any position, which caused headaches for head coach Morihoichi to finalize the squad, and also meant that Japan could form two or three high-level national teams at the same time.
Third, Japan's best result in the World Cup so far is to reach the round of 16, falling several times before the threshold of advancing to the last 8. According to the schedule of the World Cup in Qatar, Japan is in the same group as Spain, Germany and Costa Rica this time, which can be described as facing a strong enemy, but Mori Hoichi's World Cup goal remains unchanged and is still to reach the last 8. He said: "Japan is one of the strongest teams in Asia, the team has improved significantly over the years, and our goal is to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup before the draw. Now everyone thinks that we have drawn the next draw, but there is no weak brigade in the World Cup, and it is the same for whoever is drawn. The goal of the Japanese team is still to reach the last 8 of the World Cup in Qatar! For the goal of the World Cup quarterfinals set by the Japanese national team, more player Tang Anru said that the Japanese team will aim for the championship in Qatar.
Japan is a strong team in Asia, and how far Japan can go in the World Cup is not only for Japan and for glory, but also for Asia and for hope. The Japanese team is basically composed of international players who stay abroad, with a luxurious squad and a lot of money, but the Japanese team's midfield lacks core players and single-handed impact power. At present, Kaoru Mikasa, who plays for Brighton, Daichi Kamada, an attacking midfielder who is sitting in the Champions League team Eintracht Frankfurt, Nagato Fujihang of VfB Stuttgart, Junya Ito of Reims FC Belgium, and Kenei Kubo of Spanish Real Sociedad are worth looking forward to. Whether souls such as Hidetoshi Nakata and Keisuke Honda will emerge in this World Cup is the key to whether the Japanese team can break through difficulties and create miracles.
The Qatar World Cup is the "Asian World Cup" after 20 years, and it is interesting to see whether Asian teams can make another historic breakthrough. Although the situation in the group is not optimistic, the high-profile appearance of the Japanese team still makes people see hope and place expectations. I sincerely hope that the Blue Samurai will make history and go further at the World Cup in Qatar.