No Matter Who Comes Out, You Have To Be Able To Win

It is the opposite philosophy of director Jurgen Klinsmann. The Japanese national team does not depend on a specific player.

Japan defeated Myanmar 5-0 in the first round of the 2026 North-China World Cup second preliminary round in Asia held at the Panasonic Stadium in Suita on the 16th.

The reason why Japan's victory over Myanmar is meaningful is not simply the difference in points. Compared to the match against Tunisia in October, as many as 10 of the best 11 players have changed. Foreign stars representing Japan, including Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Junya Ito (Lance), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Asnal), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), and Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), were not called up in the first place due to injuries or difficult conditions against Myanmar.

Even in the absence of a lot of key players, replacement players filled the gap without difficulty. No. Players who played in the match against Myanmar performed so well that it was meaningless to select a starting player separately. Japan's unique pass-oriented soccer style remained the same. This is in contrast to Korea, which relies heavily on certain players.

In Japan, three of the convened members were injured early in October. Nakamura Keito has to rest for more than a month due to an ankle injury against Canada. This is why coach Moriyasu Hajime selected 26 players in November by adding three preliminary members. Since then, five more players have been injured in their teams, including Kaoru Mitoma and Kyogo Furuhashi.

Japan has a deep player base, with as many as 21 out of 26 players being overseas. It is an environment in which other players can fill it up even if there is no specific player. Although key players such as Kubo, Furuhashi, and Moriyasu were injured, there is a substitute.

Moriyasu said, "I made the best 11 based on my current condition. Any player should be able to win. We should be able to play our soccer the same way," he stressed.

The Korean style is the opposite. He is a style that relies heavily on key players and key players early on. South Korea replaced only the third goalkeeper, Song Bum-keun, who had little impact on their performance in October and November, with the remaining 22 the same. It seems that the core power to play in the Asian Cup has been confirmed early. Currently, there are many good players in the K League, but it was not in Klinsmann's eyes. 먹튀검증

It is the same as Japan that the Korean national team has a high proportion of overseas players. However, Klinsmann is not considering the players' current conditions. The ironic situation continues to emerge in which a player who has little time to play in his team due to poor condition is selected as a built-in member of the national team.