We asked the former head coach of the national team, Akira Nishino, about the first round of the knockout round against Croatia, who are competing in the World Cup Qatar tournament for the first time.
Q. What is the outlook for the game?
A. The current team situation is abstract, but the mood is good, and we are firmly focused on our goal of making it to the top 8.
There are various ways to win, such as a come-from-behind victory over Germany and Spain, but we can reach the best 16 while we have achieved solid results.
Compared to the opponent Croatia, I think that we are feeling a lot more positive about our current state as a team, and I certainly think that we have to play a game with full respect for Croatia. As for the current state of the team, the injured players have recovered considerably and have returned, and I think they will play a good game because they are a solid game and they are not the opponents who can never win.
Q.What kind of team is Croatia?
A. I don't think it has had a very strong impact on the Japanese soccer world.
Even so, they put up a good fight every time, and even though they are a bit underwhelming, I think that they are a team that has a solid foundation, fights in an organized manner, and consistently achieves results. However, Croatia was competing in the final, and although I didn't have much of an impression of them, they were strong.
This time, four years later, there is the euro in the middle, and after losing to Spain in the round of 16, there is not a clear generational change in the awareness of domestic football. , The players who have built up their careers and young players have emerged, and we are facing this tournament with a solid fusion of strengthening and training.
I think it's an orthodox team that is very stable, has organizational strength, and has a strong technical base, but I think it's on the same level as Germany and Spain, so the team has little impact. Although it looks like it, I think that it is a strong team that can never be underestimated.
Q. What is the difference between the fight in the final tournament and the first league?
A.It's a fight that will clearly go into a knockdown format, so both teams will have a clear victory or defeat, and the round will progress, and I think there will be various tactics between each other.
It is expected that there will be games that will be tough, and Japan is confident in its ability to respond to various games.
Players play solidly against things such as bench work and player appointments, and perform performances that match that strategy. , Now, we are able to demonstrate the team strength that we have accumulated so much that the strategy and the performance of the players match, so we will probably use the strategy and tactics that we have been able to fight against Germany and Spain as a base against Croatia. I think they will respond.
Q. What is the key point for the next match?
A. To some extent, there is a possibility that the time period in which the ball is held against Croatia will increase.
However, on the contrary, I think you can think of a strategy in keeping the ball.
Right now, the team has changed the system from four-back to three-back, and sometimes five-back. And based on that, I feel like they are shifting from solid defense to speedy development.
In the past, it was a form of short counter with a high press with a four-back, which did not work well against Germany and Spain. Switching to the defense against the key man and entering speedily, there is that, so it is also against Croatia.
It is formed in the midfield, the immovable midfield, and the midfielder who has considerable compositional power, mainly Modric and Kovacic, will take the initiative in the attack and defense in such a midfield, and who will enter the defense. On the other hand, based on that, you can create a good situation by dribbling through the front line or quickly aim behind the opponent, switching from defense to attack, and you can find a winning chance in such a situation.
Enough, the base is a little, the whole is falling to the own end, and it's going to go into the defense continuously while making an area, and then seize the ball and start the attack.
Right now, that is the most effective way to break down the opponents through change, so I think that the strategic aspect will be the same as the way we fought through the group stage.
Q. How do you keep Modric in the center of offense and defense?
A. Not all of the balls are coming to him, and Brozovic and other anchor players who are at the bottom of the midfield have a lot of ball distribution, and the pressure on the three midfielders is Modric. I don't think it's the only one.
I'm not too scared of him playing in a low zone, but when he starts playing in such a high position where he gets involved with the players on the front line when he enters the Japanese team. , When the last pass is started, it creates a pretty severe situation if it is used frequently.
In the early stage, before that, the pass in front of Modric comes from, rather than the front line applying high pressure in the match against Spain, it is a point of defense to put pressure on Busquets in the midfield and suppress the opening. If we deal with it clearly in the flow, it doesn't mean that everything starts with Modric having the ball and starting from there, so we shared that kind of response ability, or what the Japanese players are aiming for. I think that I can play well, so I will first compact the whole in the midfield and defend continuously. .
I think we can create a block with those players and continue to defend against each other, so if there is a tough game, we will have shift changes and member changes in the second half. I hope we can bring it to such a development that we can break it down.
Q. How do you change your offensive route from Spain and Germany?
A. It depends on the current condition of the player.
Everyone seems to be in good condition, but I think they are quite exhausted.
The previous tournament was also in a very good way to get through the group stage, and from now on, when it comes to this one match, I'm a pretty good player. I think that they will be damaged in the next league, so the first thing to worry about is the condition of each player. I think there are some players who haven't been able to adapt.
After all, it's a sensory thing, and there are players who are able to demonstrate their own characteristics, and players who are lucky boys who can make decisions.
I think it will be a start after identifying those players, but in the current flow, change is also one of Japan's strengths, so they came in from the second half, and now Mitoma and Doan are still opportunities. He's a player who can bring about changes in terms of make-up and finishing power, so it's not a pattern or a formula for victory, but what's working now is that he's a player who can break down opponents with changes. I think it's very difficult for the opponent to deal with players who are introduced in the second half or substituted in the middle of the game. Since there is a situation where it is in a situation where it is not, I think that it is possible to think that the base will not change so much.
Q. Doan and Mitoma, whose names are mentioned, are likely to be important?
A.I think that the speed of Asano and Maeda will come in handy in these kinds of matches, as they are players who have a great impact at the moment, or rather, they are able to pass at the top of the world, and they are able to flow well in matches and bring results. I think it's quite difficult to create a situation where you can jump behind the opponent's defense line at the final line.
Asano was there in the match against Germany, but it is necessary to enter the opponent's unpleasant area in the flow and make use of that kind of speed in such a one-shot match, so I want to expect them too. I think.
Q. Itakura will be suspended for the next game, three-back or four-back?
A. Looking at it this way, the national team traditionally entered the team with a four-back, but Director Moriyasu has been successful with a three-back for a long time, and he has a strong plan and strategic aspects. However, over the course of four years, we have fought many battles in a three-back, sometimes five-back style.
However, in the first half of the match against Germany, I felt that it was a very basic four-back, but it didn't work well. I feel that the Japanese team has the ability to respond well to that, but originally, Manager Moriyasu had an ideal three-back, five-back style of building his own team. So, the players are working well in line with that, and I think they will probably enter with a three-back.
Itakura's suspension is very big, but there is a possibility that the backup player, Tomiyasu, will return, so what do you think?
Q. How will high presses and build-ups be shown in the next game?
A.I think you use them properly.
There are moments when high pressing is possible, and there are moments where high pressing is applied in conjunction with the second line and the final line after entering the first defender on the front line, but it is quite difficult in Germany and Spain. It's not good enough to capture the ball at the enemy's end.
It worked well in Asia, but it didn't work well in the World Cup, so I switched to the opponent's target, and the defense of the midfield and the front line against the origin of the pass around the volunteers. Switching to high presses and compact midfield to hold down the opponent's key man, I think I'm fine with my current form.
About 60%, 70% of the time, the powerhouses will keep the ball, but everyone will approach one, two, three in a row, and cooperate with the next line. It's somehow low, but I'm getting it.
I think there will be times when Croatia will be forced into such a situation, so if we continue to make the whole compact and respond according to the current usage, we will be able to deal with high press. I think it's good.
If we don't share where to grab the ball as a whole, I think we will be unable to respond to Croatia's build-up.
Regarding Japan's build-up, rather than developing with long feeds, Coach Moriyasu's team style is to pass the ball from the keeper to the back line with confidence, so we will never waver and be confident. I think we're doing it with that in mind, and I haven't seen a scene where the opponent took away the ball with such an easy mistake, so instead of continuing to use long feeds with confidence, we're firmly on our own. I think it would be nice if I could hold and assemble it with.
Q. If you win, what will be the meaning of your first best 8 match?
A. Well, I've seen this scenery three times in the past, and this time I was able to go up to 16.
Having played against Germany and Spain, it feels like we have seen a new landscape, but for the Japanese football world, we have been able to focus firmly on our long-cherished goal of making it to the quarter-finals.
Unlike the previous three tournaments, I feel that I have a lot of energy left in me. I think they are full of confidence, so if we can unite and become stronger, I expect that the best 8 will surely show us a different scenery.
Q. Which player do you personally expect?
A. It's not about this player, it's just that I have high expectations for the team, and the team plan for the immediate opponent for the time being, various commands, player appointments, and the players and starting members are the same. , I'm surprised that the backup players are so well prepared, and the fact that the whole team is united in order to achieve the team's goals with such fulfillment is also historical. I think.
I've come this far many times, and I've experienced that I can't break through, and I'm fighting by stepping on it firmly. I think, so you have to keep an eye on your feet.
Q. Why did you use three-back in this tournament?
A.I don't think they are trying.
Sometimes when we meet and talk about that, of course, we are preparing for three-backs, and even if we say that it is difficult to get a free kick, no, actually, we are practicing a lot at the main tournament. The director also said this, so I think it's time to try it now, and I can only think that I was warming up, but I think I'm doing it with confidence.
I don't think he's appointed in some kind of gambling way to bring about some kind of change. There are expectations that the team will show us things that have never been seen before, and the team may have various World Cup specifications.
Q. What are the advantages of three-back and four-back?
A. I think it's not a system problem, but a player's style and ability.
Inevitably, 3 people will have to cover 68 meters with the back 3, and I think it will mean that they are strong against people and strong in space.
If you have a player with that kind of ability, if you have a strong defensive ability against the ball in three backs and lines, you can control the line and respond like a four back. It also depends on whether or not there are defender-type players. I think it would be better to call it a five-back, but on the contrary, if you can shift to a system where you can effectively attack the sides while raising both sides to an aggressive position, I think three-back is effective. I think it's a system formed by the ability and style of the players.
Q.Three backs switch offense, are the back three big?
A.That would be ideal.
I think it would be an effective system if the players on both sides effectively cooperated with the players on the front line to increase the chances of entering the opponent's attacking third while covering the 68 meters with solid three-backs. hey.