Japan national team performed well after defeating USA national team, with a score of 2-0 in the Kirin Challenge Cup 2022 at Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf.
In the match, Japan marked the unveiling of the new “ORIGAMI” uniform. Instead of the 4-1-4-1 formation that has been adopted since the fourth round of the Qatar World Cup Asian Final Qualifiers, Japan faced the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been the basic system since the inauguration of Moriyasu Japan.
GK is Shuichi Gonda , and the 4 backs are DF Yuta Nakayama , Tomiyasu, DF Maya Yoshida , and DF Hiroki Sakai from the left . Midfielder Wataru Endo and midfielder Hidemasa Morita form the double volunteer team. In the second row from the left are midfielder Takefusa Kubo , midfielder Daichi Kamata , and midfielder Junya Ito .FW Daizen Maeda served as the top of the three cards .
Match started. In the 1st minute, Japan was attacked on the left side due to a disturbance in possession in the middle stage, but Tomiyasu blocked a cross from MF Luca de la Torre with a header. Immediately after the counter, Ito dribbled the right side and aimed for a shot with his left foot from the cut-in, but it flew in front of GK Matt Turner.
In the 5th minute, Endo blocked the advance of DF Serginho Dest, and Kamata opened to the left after connecting inside, but the shot from the cut-in was blocked. In the 8th minute, Japan was in a pinch. FW Jesus Ferreira reacted to the cross that Kubo was shaken off and went up when the left side of the left side did not fit the pressing in the middle stage. However, the header flew over the frame and saved his life.
From there, Japan will take the lead. In the 11th minute, Tomiyasu’s vertical pass entered Kamata, and Morita, who was dropped, lifted up and passed it to Kubo who opened to the left. Kubo aimed with his right foot from the cut-in but was blocked by the opponent. And in the same 13 minutes, the biggest big chance so far. Kubo read the opponent’s vertical pass well and cut it, and a quick pass passed to Kamata. However, Kamata’s shot was blocked by GK Turner’s fine save.
In the 14th minute of the first half, Kamata’s left CK was met by Endo with his head, but he could not catch the frame. In the 16th minute, Yoshida sent a pass to Sakai to take advantage of the opponent’s pressure, and Maeda reacted to an early cross. Although it was not possible to match, it was a successful example of build-up. In the 18th minute, Kamata connected Maeda’s drop and Ito made a way to get out in front of the goal, but it was crushed here. Even though I got chances one after another, I couldn’t decide for a long time.
Even so, in the 24th minute of the first half, Japan attempted a short counter from Ito’s interception, and Morita’s tricky pass, which took a high position, allowed Kamata, who drifted to the left in the penalty area, to shoot directly. This rocked the net. Although an offside decision was made once, the goal was allowed due to the intervention of VAR, and Japan scored the first goal.
In the 29th minute of the first half, a quick throw-in from the United States attacked behind the final line, but Tomiyasu made it to the right side without difficulty. In the 32nd minute, Kubo was knocked down by De La Torre in front of the goal from a short counter starting on the right side and won a FK. The kicker is Kubo. The ball aimed at the top right of the goal was weak and caught by GK Turner. After that, the development continued to be evenly matched, and the first half ended as it was. It was 1-0 at halftime.
Japan changed three cards at halftime. In addition to Gonda, who had a painful scene in the middle of the first half, Sakai and Maeda were put on the bench, and GK Schmidt Daniel, DF Hiroki Ito, and FW Shooto Machino were introduced. Ito moved to the left center back, and Tomiyasu moved to the right back. Machino went straight to the front line.
In the 55th minute, Japan put pressure on the opposing team on the left flank, with Endo intercepting and Ito firing a powerful shot from the right side. But this is also blocked by GK Turner. In the 57th minute, a vertical pass was turned over after a slightly high press, and Yoshida calmly handled the attack on the left side starting from midfielder Weston McKennie.
Immediately after the CK, Schmidt showed a catch that made use of his height and developed a wonderful punt kick to the right side. Although it didn’t lead to a counter, the reserve goalkeeper who seized the chance created a highlight.
In the 66th minute of the second half, Japan regained ground with Tomiyasu’s feed to the right touchline, and Kubo and Machino put pressure on them. Kamata shook off the opponent with a cut-in that changed the rhythm, but his right foot shot was blocked by GK Turner’s big save.
In the 68th minute, Japan replaced Kubo and Ito with Kaoru Mitoma and Ritsu Doan. In the 70th minute, Doan, who picked up the second ball from Schmidt’s long kick, expanded to the left, and Mitoma’s cut-in shot immediately faced a decisive opportunity. After that, both wings of Mitoma and Doan invaded in front of the goal one after another. He launched a powerful attack.
In the 81st minute, when the ball was stolen from a hasty vertical pass, FW Brenden Aaronson was free and invaded in front of the goal. Luckily, however, the shot went off the frame and the score was tied. In the 38th minute, the counterattack started with Mitoma’s dynamic dribbling breakthrough. Nakayama’s cross was met by Kamata, but his left-footed direct shot went off to the left.
In the 87th minute, Japan replaced Kamata with midfielder Genki Haraguchi. The system was changed to 3-4-2-1 (5-4-1), and Haraguchi entered the right wing-back in addition to the previous 4-back. Japan had a defensive test, but in the 88th minute, Mitoma, who received the ball in the middle of the match, broke through on his own and invaded the enemy’s half. In the end, no injury time was taken and Japan won 2-0.
Credit Photo : Bernd Thissen/Getty Images
