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Japan shocked the football world once again when they beat Germany at the World Cup and for coach Hajime Moriyasu, it was a historic victory.
Surprises happen fairly often in big tournaments and we have already witnessed some of the greatest ones at the Qatar tournament. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina for their biggest victory ever and Japan did the same to Germany in even more dramatic fashion. Asian and African teams have also made some of the European sides sweat as Tunisia did against Denmark, or Morocco versus Croatia.
Football is changing across the world, there are teams from Asia and Africa making huge leaps in match training, preparation, building youth centers, and investing enormous amounts of money to become a more proactive member of the football society. Yes, there are still occasions when the big favorite trounces a weaker opponent as we saw in Spain’s win over Costa Rica, or France’s triumph versus Australia.
But, some teams are bringing real change like Japan. Their own J-League has been improving for the past decade, the development of football is rising, and more Japanese players are moving to European top leagues to further improve their stature.
“There are four players in our team that play in Bundesliga, two in the Premier League. They are fighting against the best players in the world week in, and week out learning how to survive on the world-class stage,” said Japan’s coach Moriyasu.
In total, there are 19 players from Japan’s World Cup squad that play in European top leagues, and the improvement of the national team is seen with each new tournament they are a part of.
How did Japan transform its team against Germany?
Germany was dominating the game against Japan for most of the time, they had a goal advantage after the first half. But, Moriyasu made three changes to his lineup during the second half, and it made a significant difference.
Japan’s teams over the years never lacked a fighting spirit, and that was proven once again. They never stopped and settled to avoid a big loss, instead, they countered with their vision and perseverance. They made significant improvements in the way how they attack the German team, and it proved to be a success.
“Before the match even started, I tried to convince our players that it doesn’t matter whether we concede a goal, it doesn’t matter if we are trailing, what is important is the way we respond. If we continue to fight as a team, without hesitation, we can turn the match around. I repeated those words at halftime, and the team did a great job of delivering a fierce response. It was a historic day for Japanese football,” Moriyasu explained.
Japan will next face Costa Rica who lost 7-0 against Spain in their first match. Japan will have a big opportunity to secure their spot in the last 16 of the tournament with a win. Germany, on the other hand, will play a do-or-die game against Spain. With Japan’s win over Costa Rica and another Germany’s loss, the tournament would be over for the former champions.
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