Japan is inspired by a champion generation

O Japan won the Norway by 3 to 1 and qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup Quarter Finals. The game, played at dawn this Saturday (5), was yet another proof that the Japanese team is one of the favorites to lift the World Cup.

With the best attack and the best defense of the group stage, the Japanese team has had a perfect campaign so far. In all, there are 14 goals scored in four games and only one goal conceded. They still have the decisive power of midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, top scorer in the competition with five goals scored, to dream of winning the second championship.

In the last round of the first phase, they shocked the world by applying a resounding thrashing against one of the strongest teams in the world. The Japanese scored 4-0 against Spain and did not take notice of Alexia Putellas and company. Most of the specialized press pointed to a balanced confrontation, but that was not what was seen on the field. The new Japanese generation is not playing around.

Japan has one of the youngest squads in the 2023 World Cup. The current Japanese generation has seen their country’s football references conquer the world, being world champions in 2011 and runners-up in 2015, in addition to winning the silver medal at the Olympics of London, in 2012. The victories, however, met a bitter end in the 2019 Cup, when the Asians fell in the round of 16 to the Netherlands. It was clear that it was time to start over.

In charge of the new phase was former player Futoshi Ikeda, who led Japan in the 2018 under-20 world cup. main selection, the renovation began. Names like Hinata Miyazawa, top scorer at the Worlds, and Rico Ueki, were part of the cycle commanded by Ikeda and today are pillars of the new Japanese team. Of the team that won the 2011 World Cup, only defender and captain Saki Kumagai, 32, is still present in the selection.

“I think Japanese women’s football has managed to build a solid history, we’ve been champions in the past, it’s something huge for us. But we see this tournament as a new challenge and the players are going with high expectations. feeling that we can face whatever comes next instead of worrying about any possible pressure from outside”, said Ikeda in an interview with FIFA. “I want us to fight with such passion that people at home are impressed with our unity on the field. We always have to fight until the final whistle.”

With well-organized football, Japan are more than capable of running a game. In the first two matches, against Zambia and Costa Rica, the Asian team controlled possession of the ball and did not give their rivals a chance. Against the Costa Ricans, he even spared five starters and still maintained the same level of excellence shown in the other two games.

Futoshi Ikeda’s team, however, also knows how to defend itself and play on the counterattack when necessary. When facing Spain, Japan closed the team and left the Europeans with the ball. The Spanish enveloping passes had little effect on the Japanese defensive system and, upon regaining possession, the Asians were lethal. In the first half, there were three shots and three goals.

Against Norway, Japan suffered more than expected. Control of the match, however, was never out of the hands of the Japanese team. Considerably lower than the Europeans, they managed to nullify their rivals and, at the end of the game, when the Norwegians were sketching a reaction, they were quick and scored a third goal, killing the match.

THE 2011 EARTHQUAKE

A natural tragedy marked the current generation of the Japanese national team. In 2011, Japan suffered the biggest earthquake in its history, a magnitude 9.1 tremor that killed 19,759,000 people. Some of the players, like striker Jun Endo, experienced the disaster firsthand.

According to her, the surprise conquest of the Women’s World Cup by the Japanese team helped to unite the country after a gigantic tragedy. In the semifinals against Sweden, the Japanese team displayed a banner thanking the international community for their support.

“Japanese fans were very supportive of that team. The 2011 earthquake had just happened, so in that sense, it was a championship that gave people courage to move forward and showed all the joy and greatness of the sport”, said coach Futoshi Ikeda . Inspired by the generation that won everything they played, the new Japanese team seeks to repeat the historic feat of 2011 and return Japanese football to the top of the world.