DOHA: Hosts Qatar is the first nation to be knocked out of the World Cup. But, despite the disappointment, head coach Feliz Sanches said that the performances should not be branded a failure or disappointment. After going down in the tournament opener to Ecuador, the Qataris took on a strong Senegal side and were never expected to put up too much resistance, the 3–1 scoreline was a fair reflection of the quality of players on the pitch and the home side will take some solace in scoring their first-ever World Cup goal.
Hosts aside, the tournament’s opening games have been massive for the Asian nations in the fray. The world watched in shock as Saudi Arabia pulled off the unthinkable — a win against pre-tournament (and perhaps still) favourites Argentina. The following day, at the Khalifa International Stadium, Japan came up with a performance that many regarded as even better than the hard-fought, scrappy Saudi win. Outplayed in an attacking sense from the opening whistle, Japan stayed in the game thanks to some extremely high-intensity pressing and at times desperate defending. In transition, they were good, as usual; playing with intelligence, speed and technical ability.
As the second half got underway, already a goal down via an Ilkay Gundogan penalty, Japan seemed up against a wall. In the 70th minute, just after a couple of decent chances for Kou Itakura and Takuma Asano, Germany had an incredible four shots on goal. Shuichi Gonda, who conceded the penalty earlier, saved them all. Suddenly, the energy on the pitch seemed to shift. Then, coach Hajime Moriyasu pulled the proverbial rabbit out of his hat.
By the 75th minute, he made all five of his substitutions allowed, including bringing on Asano and Ritsu Doan. The team also changed shape, moving to a more attack-minded formation and turning the pressure on the Europeans. Doan and Asano both got their names on the scoresheet and Asano bagged the most famous goal in Japan men’s football history — beating Manuel Neuer from an all-but-impossible angle at his near post.
Moriyasu, a former international who was part of the squad that won Japan’s first Asian Cup back in 1992, wasn’t a particularly popular choice back home. But he was given the top job after winning the J League three times with Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
After eight years of foreign head coaches, he was tasked with building cohesion in Japan’s preparations for the delayed Tokyo Olympics and the World Cup soon after. A tough final round of qualifying for the finals in Qatar followed, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Moriyasu proved well up for it.
An experienced set of defenders — Yuto Nagamoto, Hiroki Sakai and Maya Yoshida — are backed by young guns like Hiroki Ito and Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu. Ahead of them is where the magic happened. Only two of Japan’s goals in qualifying came from a centre forward. Yuya Osako was left out of the final squad in a surprise move but that is because Moriyasu has a range of attacking midfield options at his disposal.
Though there are no superstars of the Nakata-Honda-Kagawa variety, Japan’s core boasts plenty of talent and leadership, minus the big egos. Against Spain on Thursday, this lineup and the ability of these players to adapt to the situation on the pitch, will be tested to the limit. But hopes have already been lit in the hearts of the Ultra Nippon of a deep run into the tournament.
Over the next couple of days, the fun continued for the Asian sides. Iran turned things round against Wales after the big loss to England in the opener. The West Asian giants might not have had as much of the ball as their opponents, but they edged through with two well-taken injury-time goals.
After all the focus on the protests in the country and Team Melli facing some criticism for not being vocal enough, some of the attention will now turn back to football. Their final game of the group stage is a mouth-watering prospect. The chance to qualify for the next round at the expense of the US.
As the second week of the tournament rolls around, all Asian nations apart from Qatar can still qualify for the knock-out stages. If that happens, at least from a footballing point of view, Qatar 2022 will have been a success for AFC.