Japan Needs A Bag Of Good Players To Win Against The Indonesian National Team

JAKARTA - Japan will meet the Indonesian national team in the last match of Group D of the 2023 Asian Cup at Al Thumama Stadium, Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 18.30 WIB.

Samurai Blue is well aware of the motivation of the fiery Garuda Squad to make history for the first time breaking the knockout phase of the Asian Cup.

This situation made it difficult for Japan. Moreover, they lost to Iraq 1-2 in the group's second party which made their steps struggle.

Hajime Moriyasu, the Japanese coach, admitted that his team had returned to focus on the match against the Indonesian national team.

"We lost the last game, but the players focused fully and prepared to fight Indonesia. We are facing this together and we will try to win," said Moriyasu.

In addition, Moriyasu also held discussions with the coaching staff and players regarding his team's less impressive performances in the two group matches.

He wants to mix players to the fullest in order to win against the Indonesian national team.

"I'm trying to listen to the opinions of my players and staff. I'm not someone trying to control everything."

"I'm trying to sync everyone's thoughts. However, when we have to make a decision, the final decision rests with me taking everyone's opinion into account." "After today's training, we will check the condition of the players, then we will make a decision regarding the starting line-up."

"We have 26 players and we have to consider that we have a lot of games to play in this tournament and that will help make decisions," Moriyasu said.

Japan is currently in second place in Group D standings with a collection of three points from one defeat and one win.

The number of points is the same as that of the Indonesian national team. They actually only needed series results to qualify automatically for the last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup.

However, the Indonesian national team is not underestimated and can become a serious stumbling block.