Coach Hajime Moriyasu of the Japanese national soccer team participating in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 

Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu emphasized internal team unity ahead of the round of 16 of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. 파워볼사이트

Japan, led by coach Hajime, will play Bahrain in the round of 16 at Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 8:30 pm on the 31st (Korean time).

At an official press conference held at the Main Media Center in Doha on the 30th, a day before the game, Coach Hajime said, “We had enough time to reorganize after completing the group stage. He rested and trained well. “I look forward to a good performance against Bahrain,” he said.

As Japan lost to Iraq in the second game of the group stage and remained in second place in Group D, expectations for a round of 16 match with Korea, which is likely to take first place in Group E, have grown. However, Korea drew 3-3 against Malaysia in the final group match, falling to second place in the group, and the match between Korea and Japan in the round of 16 was cancelled.

Accordingly, some foreign media speculated that Korea drew with Malaysia to avoid Japan, the 'champion candidate'.

A question related to this was also asked at a press conference in Japan. A foreign reporter said, “The Korea-Japan match was canceled as Korea finished second in the group. “Which result is better, Korea or Japan?” he asked.

Coach Moriyasu said, “Actually, I don’t really care which team we face. “In the knockout stage, the first opponent was not very important,” he said. “I didn’t watch other teams’ games until the round of 16 opponent was decided.” “I just focused on the Japanese team,” he said.

Regarding the repeated sluggish performance of Korea and Japan, he said, “I know that many people have high expectations for Japan. However, not only Japan but all Asian teams have grown and become more competitive. He cited the upward leveling of Asian soccer as the reason, saying, “The power gap between teams has decreased.”

Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), who attended as a player representative, said, “We improved through the group stage. “I prepared well ahead of the Bahrain match,” he said, adding, “I will produce good results.” 카지노