“After four years, I will definitely lead the team to victory.”



Kaoru Mitoma had tears in his eyes after the Japan national football team played against Croatia on the 5th for the first time in a World Cup final eight. These are the words I said while floating.

As a “Japanese trump card”

Mitoma, who led Japan's attack in this tournament.

The biggest characteristic is dribbling breakthrough with slow speed, and the passing and shooting from there boasts high accuracy.



Manager Moriyasu praised his ability to break through the situation by himself, saying, “Mitoma himself is a tactical player.”

It was the match against Australia in the final Asian qualifiers held in March that made its existence known throughout Japan.

In his second match for the national team, he came on as a substitute and scored two goals in just 10 minutes.

He became an instant hero when he scored the goal that qualified Japan for the World Cup.

This score was a turning point for him, and he said, ``I was able to score one big goal in my life.

Leaping forward in overseas challenges

After playing in the Belgian First Division from J1's Kawasaki Frontale, he currently plays for Brighton in the English Premier League.



In overseas leagues, instead of playing in the front row, which I played in Japan, I have increased the number of opportunities to play in the position of "wing back" one row behind.



This challenge led to further progress.



In addition to increasing the intensity of his defense, he says that by experiencing many situations where he waits and defends against opponents, his explosive power has improved, and he has added strength to his first step of dribbling.

“Because I have to stop more often in defense, I use different muscles, and the number of stop dashes that move after stopping has increased. I feel

Showing power on the World Cup stage

Even in the World Cup, he was appointed as a substitute "trump card" in three games of the first league, showing his power.



Until the second game, they were all dynamic with their good dribble breakthrough.

In the match against Germany, Japan scored the equalizing goal, and in the second match against Costa Rica, the team cut deep into the opponent's territory to supply passes and approached the goal many times.

Furthermore, in the third match against Spain, he assisted the winning goal by throwing a cross ball from just above the goal line.

In this match, even when Real Madrid player Asensio, who plays in the Spanish first division, created a one-on-one situation, he tenaciously responded and did not let him perform decisive work, contributing to the victory in defense.

With regret in my heart, I decided to go 4 years later

And the Croatia match in the first round of the final tournament on the 5th, which will be the first best 8 in history.

Mitoma, who entered the match in the second half, created chances with his dribbling, and just before the end of the first half of extra time, he held the ball in his own half and lifted it up to the vicinity of the penalty area. rice field.

I couldn't score a goal, and I was entrusted with the second kicker when it got entangled in the penalty shootout.

The ball aimed at the bottom left of the goal was stopped by the goalkeeper and the team lost.



In an interview after the defeat, Mitoma cried, saying, "I was prepared to take a penalty kick. I have a responsibility."

Regarding the scene where he took a shot in the first half of extra time, he bit his lip, saying, ``If I could have scored there, I would have won. rice field.

And I made a decision to squeeze it out.



"I have to start from the beginning and become a person who can win all the teams. To do that, I have to do it one more time in four years."

The trump card is no longer enough.



Lead the team as an "absolute existence".



Japan's proud dribbler already seemed to have a new determination to reach the last 8, which they hadn't managed to reach.