On the 22nd, the Japan national team, who are preparing for the World Cup Qatar soccer tournament, held an official practice session for their first match against Germany. Did.
At the World Cup Qatar tournament that started on the 20th, Japan will face Germany in the first match of the first league on the 23rd.
With the big game coming up the next day, the Japan national team held an official training session at the training facility in Doha on the 22nd, with all 26 members participating.
Only the first 15 minutes of practice was open to the public, and captain Maya YOSHIDA and 21-year-old Takefusa KUBO were running and passing the ball with a toned expression.
Also, 36-year-old Yuto Nagatomo, who changed his golden hair to red and appeared on the ground, raised the atmosphere with a loud voice during pass practice.
Kubo said, “I did everything I had to do, so I hope I can sleep well, eat well, and start the day in a good shape. Athletes who can participate and produce results are expected. I am the youngest member this time, but I want to go with the feeling that if I get a chance, I will do it.”
Japan vs. Germany will be played from 4:00 pm local time on the 23rd, 10:00 pm Japan time.
Gonda player "One in a painful time"
Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda said, "No matter what World Cup match you are watching, there is a period of time where you have to be patient and defend, and when we are able to fight as a team at that time, we bounce back and win the match. It's important to fight as one in difficult times.Germany is a strong team as you know, but if we get timid, nothing will happen.It's important to challenge with a strong feeling that you can definitely win. It's very important," he said.
Morita player "I will fight with everything"
Hidemasa Morita said about the condition of his left calf, which was uncomfortable, "I was a little late to join, but I came back in a state close to 100%."
Regarding the preparations for the first match against Germany, he said, "I think there are more times when the game will be difficult and we won't be able to hold the ball, so I think it's a must to build a strong defense as a team and defend with patience. We can do that. It's the first time we've played a match, and I think it's how we can connect to the shot after we win."
After that, he said, ``The first match is very important, and if we get momentum, we can win more and more.
Itakura "Just fight with confidence"
Defender Ko Itakura, who injured his knee in September this year, said about his current condition, "It's excellent. I'm ready to fight." I have the impression that we came here and did everything we could, so on the 23rd we will just have to play with confidence,” he said, showing his confidence ahead of the match against Germany.
Then, based on the fact that Saudi Arabia, the same Asian team, came from behind to win against Argentina, who was the favorite for the championship, he said, "I thought that I didn't know what would happen in a one-shot game, and I delivered good news that Asia could beat Argentina like that. I think we can beat Germany too, so I think we'll just do that."