To the soccer World Cup Kaoru Mitoma "To be a player who can leave an overwhelming presence"

It's almost half a year before the soccer World Cup Qatar tournament, which starts in November.

Kaoru Mitoma contributed greatly to Japan's 7th consecutive World Cup appearance as a trump card for the Japanese national team's attack, marking 2 points while participating in the final Asian qualifying round in March against Australia.

A 24-year-old currently playing for the Belgian First Division Sangiroise.

In his interview, he talked about what he felt while playing in Belgium and his feelings for the World Cup.

The full interview.

"How good can you make an impression when you play?"

-What I feel when playing in the first division of Belgium is

Mitoma:

"I'm glad I came, and the reason is that I can feel my own growth, but this soccer is also a little. As I got used to it, I was able to show my own characteristics, so when I first came, I couldn't afford it, and I wonder if being able to play my own play is growing again.

The difference between the J-League and the first division of Belgium is

Mitoma:

"It 's

faster, especially in Belgium, but there are more spaces and more open developments than in Japan, so the press from before There are quite a lot of places to come, and it's easier to develop individual abilities rather than being more organized, and there are many good players in terms of play and soccer, so I think I've come to a good league in that respect. "

-Intensity (strength) is

Mitoma

"I think it is higher than in Japan, but I have completely forgotten soccer in Japan, so I can not compare it, but Belgium at the beginning I think I wasn't very used to it when I came to Japan, so I think that being able to adapt to it now means that I'm growing up. "

-I'm consciously working to get used to soccer in Belgium.

Mitoma

said

, "First of all, you can't play in the match unless you get results within the team, so I think that the fight for the starting lineup there was more intense than in Japan, and when it came out, the team's I thought that if I could contribute to the victory, I would be able to play in the match, so I was thinking about how good I could be when I played, and I was doing wingback. Among them, I had to score points and of course I had to do the defensive part, so I was more conscious of the overall strength than in Japan. "

-Is the defensive part more important than in the J League?

Mitoma:

"That's right. The number of defenses in front of the goal has increased, and there are many one-on-one defenses with side players, so I think that the defense response there has been refined.

" Mitoma: "Especially at the

edge

of the ball, I feel that I can challenge the ball more than in Japan, and the step work after the challenge is moving powerfully. I think. Than in Japan. "

"I thought that playing for a moment wouldn't let me down."

-The fact that you put a lot of weight on the defense and make use of it in the dribble is that

Mitsusa

said, "What you think in the defense is different from what you think in the attack, but when you dribble, you have better condition or power. Since it is required to go to the attack in a state of being in a state, especially after defending, I often go out and do one-on-one, so I think that the strength there is gradually increasing. Masu

" -The

difference in the defense response of the opponent between Japan and Belgium is

Mitsusa

" I have a higher awareness of attacking the ball than Japanese players, and with the current wingback, I can carry the space and the ball in front. You can set it in a better way than you do, but when you are in the striker's position or in the previous position, you have to set up in a situation where the distance with the opponent is narrower, so the pressure is Japan. There are times when players don't have it. " -The

part that I try to dribble against the opponent who puts" pressure "is

Mitsusa

. If you

lose

it, the risk of the counter is higher than in Japan, so you may have come to decide that you end up with a shot or a cross rather than a half-finished play. " The reason why

the consciousness of ending with a cross ball became higher was probably because he had a bitter experience

.

"That's right. When I first played in Belgium, I felt that I lost the ball and got involved in the goal, and I got a goal so quickly at the counter, and that was the player who lost the ball. Because it's a responsibility, it was easier for me to blame myself than in Japan, and I feel the risk. If the ball is lost badly, there is a high risk of getting a counter. , The way of thinking about it may have changed a little. "

-Specifically , which match is

Mitoma ?

"It's the first match in Belgium or the second match. Maybe it's the home match after the Genk match. (* Last September's Waregem match. Mitoma (The ball was stolen and I lost a goal from the counter) I lost the ball, crossed it and was decided, and after that we scored a point and won the game, but at that point it was still in the team I was about to lose my trust in the game, so if I lost that game, the position after that game might have changed, so I thought it would be a real moment to play. " -On

the contrary, the play that got a response was

Mitoma player

"It is a play that was a response. What is it? I think there are various games, but I thought that I could not do it, rather than starting from the middle of the game. I often feel that when I play a match and contribute to the victory of the team, and when the number of good plays increases, I often participated in the middle of the game since I was in Japan, so I think I can do it. I knew I had to do it, but when I got out in Belgium as a starting lineup and got involved in scoring, I think I had a pretty good impression of the match against Charles Roy at home (last November). I think. "

“The strength of one step is increasing”

-Is your

commitment to the starting lineup stronger? Mitoma:

"Well, I understand that you can do it in the middle (participation) but you can't do it in the starting lineup, and I hate being told that. I have a feeling that I want to do it when I go out in the starting lineup. ”

-Which play did you particularly respond to in the match against Charles

Roy

?

I haven't scored a goal since I went up, but I think that's the place because there were many plays that could be involved in the goal

.

"

"That's the same as it was in Japan. I think that the strength is coming out, so I'm becoming able to move even finer movements, so I'm turfing myself. The length of the ball is different, and the ball feeling may change little by little, but basically it doesn't change. ”

Where did the strength of the

dribble

come from?

It's the same with daily practice, the strength of the game, I think I'm used to it, I think my own body has changed due to it, and nutritional support has been added. I think that there are also places where it is increasing. " -I

have the impression that the body is solid, but

Mitoma

"Well, I want to improve my muscle strength, but while muscle training is going on in parallel, I think that there is something that is improving in my practice, so it changes my body. I think there are some places where you are doing it. "

-Is

muscle mass increasing? Mitoma

" I don't know the muscle mass data right now. I haven't measured it so much, but I feel that it is increasing. I think. "

The part that influences the dribble is

Mitoma player

"I feel that the strength when stepping in one step is increasing in myself, and it stops with defensive measures than in the past. Since there are more movements, the location of the muscles used in that aspect is different, and the number of stop dashes that move after stopping is increasing, so the more you stop, the more the front part of the muscle develops, but it looks good in such a place. Maybe it's getting better, but I'm also sprinting and adding the back (muscle), and I feel like I've got a good balance in that place. "

-Two points against Australia in the final qualifying. Do you think that the dribbling of the eyes was born from the strength of the first step?

Mitoma

"I don't know if the initial speed of the first step is faster than in Japan, but I can set it with confidence. I think there is something like that, and I think it comes from the confidence that I can show my own characteristics even when I play against various players. "

“We have to be the center of the representative”

-Is confidence created by facing players with high physical abilities in Belgium?

Mitoma

"I think that is the case, and in Japan, I wonder if all overseas players have high physical abilities. There was a place where there was, but in reality there are players who do not do that, and since it is not known until you come, there were many discoveries of such places. "

-I went to Belgium with a one-on-one mechanism and changed it. Is there any part?

Mitoma:

"In Japan, there are places where you can wait until the last minute and keep the ball even if you are attacked at the worst, but overseas players pull back, but the number of times they go forward at once. There are many cases, so if you don't always touch the ball, you will be attacked by the ball and lost more often when you are one away, so sometimes you set yourself up before you get into the opponent's room, which is the area. It's changed depending on the situation, but it may be that we started working earlier than in Japan. "

-Score the goal that will determine the World Cup in the final qualifying match against Australia.

What kind of goal was it for me?

Mitoma

"While the match was going 0-0, I wanted to get out of the way and decide, and I'm very happy because I was able to develop it as I imagined. I'm very happy that I was able to score the goal to decide the World Cup, but I myself have only been called by the national team a few times, and I will continue to be called more and more in the future, becoming the center of the national team. I think I have to become, so in that respect I was switching to the match against Vietnam immediately, but I think I was able to decide one big point in my life.

" The

place I want to train is

Mitoma,

"Strength and scoring ability through 90 minutes, defensive ability, to put it in a big way, but that is required, and I play the game in the (England) Premier League throughout the year. If you can do it, I think that is what you are looking for because it is the top level in the world. " (* Currently

,

Mitoma is transferring from Brighton of the English Premier League to Sangiroise of the first division of Belgium for a limited time)

Do you have a strong feeling for the Premier League?

Mitoma:

"I started to be aware of it when I decided to move to the Premier League, and I didn't want to go to the Premier League when I was little, but now. There is a goal in that kind of place, and there are opportunities, so the desire to play there is growing day by day. "

To the World Cup "You need the power to score points"

-In the World Cup finals, it has been decided to play against the powerful Spain and Germany.

How did you feel frankly?

Mitoma

"I thought I was in a tough group, and I thought it was a very valuable experience to be able to play Spain and Germany in the World Cup, so I want to stand on that pitch. I was watching while thinking. "

-I played against Spain at the Tokyo Olympics.

What kind of impression did you have?

Mitoma:

"My personal skills are higher than Japanese players, and I move tactically at that player's level, so I had a chance to win in Japan, but I thought I had the ability. However, there are many parts that I can't understand unless I stand on the pitch, but I think it's the kind of soccer that Japanese people are looking for, including their physical abilities. "

-When I stood on the pitch,

I think.

What kind of place do you want to poke?

Mitoma

: "It's not limited to that match, but I have the image that Spain can be connected later, and I think that the short counter will work in that respect, so that. I have an image, but if I can hold the ball for a long time, I will be exhausted, and I think it will be important to be active in such a place. "

-Short counter was done at Kawasaki Frontale. Is

it an image like the time?

Mitoma

"Well, I think it is necessary to have the ability to fit the ball well from the front and score points." -Germany

's impression is

Mitoma.

"Germany is already lacking in individual abilities among the countries of the world, as are the offensive players, but the defensive players also have high physical abilities, and it seems that there are no holes, but how we are I think it's important to have the ball and make our own time zone. "

“I want to be a player who can leave an overwhelming presence”

-What kind of play do you want to show in the warm

-up game in June to become a member?

"I think there is a chance to play with a strong country, so if you can show your strength there, you can do it in the World Cup, including the manager. I think people will think about it, and since it will be about 5 months by November, I really feel that I can grow as a player even for a month, so the environment is good. Even if it doesn't change, I want to grow up to be one step higher, both physically and mentally, so that I can be selected there. " -What

is necessary to win the starting lineup of the representative is

Mitoma

. It is important to be selected first, how much you can do when you fight in the starting lineup of the representative, how much you can do against a strong opponent, and it is most important to keep playing in the game at your club. I think I want to concentrate on that first. "

-What kind of stage is the World Cup for Mitoma?

Mitoma

" I think it's the biggest tournament in soccer life, and I can be 25 years old, and the next one. The tournament is also 29 years old, so it's the heyday, or it's one of the tournaments where I can play soccer in the best condition, so I think that if I don't go there, my soccer life will end with regret, so I want to go there. My feelings are getting stronger. "

-What kind

of things do you want to improve for the World Cup?

"I think it is necessary to improve offensive, defensive, all level up and physical ability. After that, it is necessary to score points in any situation, and De Bruyne is the player who can assist in the world. I think there are such players, but I want to be a player who can leave an overwhelming presence even if I can't be that far. "

Soccer World Cup combination decision Japan will play against Germany Spain etc.

Japan National Soccer Team World Cup Battle [1998-2018]