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Audio Japan, Learning Japan with you.
This podcast delves into Japanese culture, trends,and various insights in English.
If you want to listen to this podcast in Japanese,please check out Audio Japan あなたと一緒に日本を学ぶ。
I'm Taiki, and thanks for turning in again.
Are you looking forward to watching the World Cup2026?
I'm really excited, especially for Japan's games.
In this episode, I'll delve into the Moriyasu Regime in the first part,
and then move on to a major turning point in thesecond part.
First, let's look at the schedule.
The World Cup runs from June 11th to July 19th inthe United States, Canada, and Mexico.
This is the first time the tournament is being co-hosted by three countries,
expanding to include 48 participating teams.
Japan belongs to Group F.
Their first game is against Netherlands on June 15th at 5 a.m. JST.
The second game is against Tunisia on June 21st at1 p.m. JST.
The third game is against Sweden on June 26th at 8a.m. JST.
The top two or three teams from each group willadvance to the knockout stage.
If Japan wins at least two games, they willprogress to the tournament round.
As you know, the current national team isremarkably strong,
but they wouldn't be where they are today withoutsurviving a critical crisis in the past.
Now, let's focus on our main topic, the MoriyasuRegime.
Hajime Moriyasu was appointed as the national teammanager in 2018 after the Russia World Cup,
while also managing the U-21 Olympic team until2021.
He has been leading the national team for 80years,
making him the longest-serving manager in Japan'shistory.
His track record in international matches includes71 wins, 17 loses, and 14 draws,
bringing his win rate to about 70%.
This average is exceptionally high compared toprevious managers.
I'm absolutely astonished by this number.
While the historical average with late or pastmanagers sits around 50% to 60%,
and many only lasted for 10 to 20 games,
Coach Moriyasu has managed a huge number ofmatches while consistently winning.
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Even though he sometimes faces criticism for hisstrategies and tactics,
his results prove he deserves his position.
In fact, the national team defeated powerhousenations like Germany and Spain in Qatar.
Moreover, they faced elite teams like Brazil andEngland in friendly matches.
Over these past 8 years, Japan's FIFA ranking hasjumped from 55th to 18th.
If I were looking at this from a Europeanperspective,
I would definitely recognize Japan as a dangerousdark horse.
However, his path to success was never easy.
In my opinion, the ultimate turning point for theMoriyasu regime
was the match against Australia on October 12,2021,
during the Asian qualifiers for the Qatar WorldCup.
Leading up to this game, the Samurai Blue wereliterally on the brink of collapse.
Japan had suffered a shocking 0-2-1 defeat againstOman in the opening match of the final round,
followed by another painful 0-2-1 loss to SaudiArabia in their third match.
With only one win and two loses in their firstthree games,
Japan was in a disparate situation,
and their qualification for the World Cup was inserious jeopardy.
The media and fans were fiercely criticizing Moriyasu,
and rumors of his dismissal were everywhere.
Facing extreme pressure where a loss would meanthe end,
Coach Moriyasu made a massive gamble for the homegame against Australia.
He abandoned his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation
and deployed a 4-3-3 system without any priortesting in official matches.
Furthermore, he selected Aotanaka and Hidemasa Morita
from the Tokyo Olympic generation as central midfielders.
This tactical change worked perfectly.
Just eight minutes into the game,
Aotanaka,making his first ever start in the finalqualifiers,
scored a stunning opening goal that brought hopeback to the stadium.
Although Australia equalized in the second half,
Japan kept fighting and forced an own goal in the86th minute
after a shot by Takuma Asano,securing a dramatic 2-1 victory.
The victory against Australia completely broke thesuffocating atmosphere surrounding the team.
From this moment on, the Samurai Blue bouncedback,
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went on a historic winning streak,
and successfully qualified for the Qatar WorldCup.
While this dramatic match marked the resurrectionof Japan,
it sent their rival, Australia, down a long and grueling path to survival.
Following their defeat to Japan,
the Sakharovs lost their momentum and finishedthird in the group
behind Saudi Arabia and Japan,
missing out on direct qualification for the WorldCup.
This was the beginning of their ultimate survivaltest.
First, they narrowly defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in the Asian playoff,
securing a spot in the final hurdle,
the Intercontinental Playoff.
Their final obstacle for the last remaining ticketto the World Cup was Peru,
a formidable opponent from the South American qualifiers.
In June 2022,
the single-leg showdown in Qatar ended in a 0-2-0deadlock
even after extra time,
pushing the destiny of both nations into a penaltyshootout.
At this critical moment,
Australia's manager,Garam Arnold,
made one of the most astonishing gambles infootball history.
In the final minute of extra time,
just before the shootout,
he substituted his starting goalkeeper for thebackup keeper,
Andrew Redmayne,
known as the penalty specialist.
Redmayne literally began dancing and moving hysterically
along the goal line to distract the Peruvianpenalty takers.
This unique psychological warfare worked flawlessly.
Redmayne spectacularly blocked Peru's sixthpenalty,
securing a 5-2-4 victory in the shootout.
Against all odds,
Australia captured their ticket to their fifthconsecutive World Cup appearance.
The fact that Japan's fiercest rival
endured such a dramatic and gritty journey toqualify
as an Asian representative
remains another unforgettable highlight
of the Qatar World Cup qualifiers.
Why does Japan win so many games?
In my opinion,
beating Germany and Spain gave the team immenseconfidence
and completely changed their mindset.
Otherwise,
it would have been difficult to perform socompetitively
against teams like Brazil and Britain.
Additionally,
changes in the coaching staff have played a majorrole.
Up until the Qatar World Cup,
Morias mainly led the tactical planning.
However,
during and after the tournament,
the team structure shifted significantly.
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Coach Nanami now focuses on the attackingstrategy,
while Coach Saito handles the defensive strategy.
Furthermore,
Makoto Hasebe and Shunsuke Nakamura joined thestaff as coaches,
which has had a highly positive impact on theplayers.
Thanks to this strong support system,
Morias can focus entirely on player motivation
and overall management.
Moreover,
Morias has emphasized the importance of individualgrowth,
encouraging players to step up on the globalstage.
How many players have been kept under hismanagement?
Among all the selected squad members,
Takumi Minamino leads with 74 games,
followed by Junya Ito with 64 games,
and Ritsu Dowan with 61 games,
forming the top three.
Ao Tanaka and Kaoru Mitoma have also playednumerous matches
because they have been part of the system sinceunder-21.
On a side note,
let's talk about the Tokyo Olympic generation.
This group includes key players like Daisen Maeda,
Ayase Ueda and Take Fusakubo.
Most of them were born around 1998,
with the exception of Take.
Take was born in 2001,
meaning he first walked his way into the Tokyogeneration early on.
In this upcoming World Cup,
a total of 11 squad members are from this talentedTokyo Olympic generation.
OK,thank you for listening to the episode up untilthe end.
If you feel interested or if you enjoy thispodcast,
please subscribe this podcast.
And if you want me to ask some questions,
please check the Google form.
You can see the description box.
Thank you for the end.
I'm Take.
See you in the next episode.
Bye.
