Soccer Asia Cup Japan defeats Indonesia and advances to final T

The Japanese national soccer team played against Indonesia in the third match of the first round of the Asian Cup and won 3-1.

Japan finished in 2nd place in Group D with 2 wins and 1 loss in the first round and decided to advance to the final tournament.

Coach Moriyasu: ``We were able to control the entire game''

Coach Hajime Moriyasu said, ``I'm glad that the team was able to look back on the game against Iraq and share what they needed to do and how they should prepare before heading into this game.The players were prepared for a tough battle. "We thought about what we could do to gain an advantage and played the game aggressively and smartly, which led to the score. I think we were able to control the entire match," he said.

Then, for the final tournament, he said, ``I want to create the mental and physical condition so that we can perform to the best of our ability as a team.I want to clarify my goals once again and prepare to fight the match in front of me with all my might.'' I braced myself.

Kiyo Ueda with 2 goals: ``We started the game well''

Kiyo Ueda, who contributed to the victory with two goals, said, ``As a team, we were conscious of learning from the previous game, and I think we entered the game well.There are still issues to be solved. We want to improve our performance and quality of play, but we were able to score a point and win today, so I think that was a good thing," he said, looking back on the match.

After that, they looked ahead to the final tournament and said, ``We want to prepare well so that we can demonstrate our abilities to the fullest.''

Wataru Endo "I was able to outperform my opponent with the speed and momentum of switching"

Captain Wataru Endo said of the match, ``The whole team was conscious of switching to defense after losing the ball.I think the key to our victory was that we were able to outpace our opponent with the speed of switching and momentum.'' I looked back.

``The opponent was also holding back and defending, so I had to hold the ball a lot.I learned to pick up the second ball and to be the first to defend after losing the ball in an attack.'' I was especially conscious of that. I think I did well in that area."

Looking ahead to the final tournament, he said, ``The first round made us realize that it's difficult to win no matter what opponent we play.I think it's important to prepare for every game in order to perform to the best of our abilities. I think it's important to continue playing like we did today," he said, emphasizing that he should concentrate on the match in front of him.