Japan’s soccer ‘clock hands’, which gave a fresh shock to the world soccer world with their skills, are turning fast.
On the 28th, head coach Hajime Moriyasu (54), who leads the Japanese national soccer team, announced full-scale activities toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. He went to Europe to get ‘hints’ to build a new team.
According to NHK, coach Moriyasu explained the reason for heading to Europe, saying, “I want to meet with players who participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (which ended last month) and hear about the achievements of the tournament and future tasks in ‘Player’s Perspective’.” Explained.
He added, “The creation of a ‘new team’ for the 2026 World Cup has begun.”
After Korea achieved the feat of advancing to the round of 16 at the Qatar World Cup, it said goodbye to coach Paulo Bento due to the expiration of his contract. Currently, the position of head coach of the Korean national team is vacant.
Japan contrasts this. Coach Moriyas also overturned expectations and survived the Qatar tournament’s ‘Group of Death’ and won a ticket to the round of 16. They advanced through the group stage with come-from-behind victories over Germany and Spain.
Coach Moriyasu signed a new contract with the Japan Football Association right after the World Cup. He was guaranteed a four-year time frame until the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America. For the first time in Japan, a coach was born after the World Cup.
Japan is a time saver. This is because they can prepare for the next World Cup right away without going through the complicated process of appointing a new coach. Coach Moriyasu is expected to take a longer break after the Qatar tournament that ended on the 19th of last month, but he is already preparing for the next game after leaving for Europe.
In addition, the Japanese national soccer team under the age of 22 (U-22), directed by Oiwa Ko, aiming for good results at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is also busy. 메이저사이트
The Japan U-22 national team, which played friendly matches against Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal last year, will have a friendly against Germany on March 25 (Korean time) in Frankfurt, Germany.
Coach Oiwa Ko said, “2023 is a precious year for participating in the Paris Olympics. I am happy to play against a great team called Germany. I will only think about defeating them. I want to grow as a team and as an individual before winning.”