Identify the Japanese team

If in the 8 matches of round 2, coach Hajime Morijasu and his team were the "Samurai warriors" who won like cutting bamboo, making the whole of Asia admire them, then in round 3 after 4 matches, the Japanese team is disappointing, ranking 4th in group B with 6 points.

In the second round, they won all 8 matches, scored 46 goals, only conceded 2 goals and had devastating matches against Myanmar (10-0), Mongolia (14-0, 6-0). It seemed that they used all their strength too early and exposed all their tricks, so they encountered many difficulties when they were eliminated in the 3rd place of the 2022 World Cup in Asia, and were defeated 1-0 by the visiting team Oman right at home.

The European "study abroad" army

Back to the story of the squad that went to Hanoi to prepare for the match with the Vietnamese team, among the 27 players summoned, there are 17 stars playing in Europe. Thus, compared to the previous gathering, the number of players playing abroad is 4 players less. Some information said that Takefusa Kubo are not 2 players that are too important to Mr. Hajime Morijasu. In the 12 qualifying matches of the Japanese team, the 20-year-old Korean prodigy who is playing for Mallorca (Spain) only started 1 match, came on the bench 3 matches and has not scored any goals.

Winger Ritsu Doan, who wears the number 11 jersey, started 3 matches, came on as a substitute in 2 matches, has recovered from his injury and will be present in Vietnam. In fact, up to now, in the qualifying round, he has only contributed 1 of the 49 goals of the Japanese team.

The “Blue Samurai Warriors” mostly play football in Europe. Photo: JF

Moreover, stars like Takumi Minamino, Yuto Nagatomo, Takehiro Tomiyasu... are what Que Ngoc Hai and the Vietnamese defenders need to pay attention to. Coach Hajime Morijasu really likes the 4-2-3-1 tactical formation that is very popular in Japan, according to which number 15 Y.Osaka plays the highest in the attack. The 31-year-old striker who is playing in Germany has started 7 matches and scored 9 goals. Y.Osaka is 1.82m tall, right-footed and plays quite simply, with a style of play similar to striker Anh Duc of the Vietnamese team.

After 3 matches (1 win and 2 losses), in the match against Australia at home, coach Hajime Morijasu unexpectedly switched to a 4-3-3 formation, which is said to have more space for the second line to advance. As a result, the Japanese team won 2-1 and they will most likely still play with this formation at My Dinh Stadium.

Speed ​​Weapon

The Japanese team really likes the 4-2-3-1 tactical formation. Photo: JF

According to the analysis of the Japanese press, the performance of the Vietnamese team is quite poor when losing 5 consecutive matches. Both in the goalkeeper position and the defense line, Mr. Park does not have a satisfactory choice, the most notable player on the home team is Hoang Duc, not Quang Hai. With winning all 3 matches in the meetings, scoring 6 goals and only conceding 1 goal, they have a full chance of getting 3 points. Compared to the last time the two teams met in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, when the Vietnamese team lost 0-1 to Japan, the squad that Mr. Park has in hand is considered weaker.

Right-back Tomiyasu has spent many years fighting in Europe. Photo: JF

In fact, the two recent losses of the Japanese team were not due to them losing the game, but because the opponent retreated deep to defend, then suddenly attacked. Letting the Japanese team rush forward to attack, being hit by a counter-attack like a compressed spring, the goal of this top team in the continent will be shaken. A match where the speed of Van Toan, Van Thanh, Quang Hai must be exploited to the maximum in counter-attacks.