Before the match between Vietnam and Japan: "Samurai Blue" - not sharp in attack but very solid in defense

Many professional commentators criticize Park Hang-seo's pragmatic playing style.Coach Moriyasu Hajime and his team have shown the whole continent that goals are the most important thing in football. The "Samurai Blue" style of play is as undulating as the rhythm of the waves, extremely annoying for opponents who want to attack in a rush.

Focus on the midfield area

While Japan played with a 4-4-2 formation, Saudi Arabia played with a 4-1-4-1 formation. Both Japan and Saudi Arabia concentrated a lot of players in the midfield area, fighting for every centimeter, not giving the opponent any space to control the ball.

In that situation, both teams were forced to switch to attacking from the flanks. Japan was the team that took advantage of the opportunity better to take the lead in the 20th minute thanks to midfielder Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Yoshinori Muto, striker of Newcastle FC, has received enough cards and will not be able to play in the match against Vietnam. Photo: news.zing.vn

After the goal, the "Blue Samurai" immediately set up a 3-layer defense. The two strikers Minamino Takumi and Yoshinori Muto played closer to goalkeeper Gonda's goal than the opponent's goal. Possessing the ball up to 77%, Saudi Arabia played quite deadlocked and did not create any really clear chances towards goalkeeper Gonda's goal.

Coach Hajime Moriyasu wants the continental teams to know what pragmatic football is. The Japanese players play leisurely, not rushing to attack but calmly cutting off the Saudi Arabian players' attacks, holding the ball and forcing the opponent to retreat. The fact that the country of the rising sun has players with the ability to break through like Wataru Endo and Shibasaki Gaku makes Saudi Arabia lose early but still have to maintain the number of defenders.

On the Japanese side, the solid defense with the core of the central defender duo Maya Yoshida and Takehiro Tomiyasu neutralized all attempts to shoot from near and far by the Saudi Arabian players. Coach Hajime Moriyasu chose a mixed style of play, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, mainly to disrupt the opponent's play and wait for the final whistle.

Therefore, throughout the match, Japan only had 5 shots, 2 on target and 1 goal in a match that Saudi Arabia will lose without being convinced.

After the match, Saudi Arabia's head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi criticized Japan for playing too negatively, and at the same time, he believed his team deserved a better result. The number of Japanese players who actively committed fouls, 27 times, twice as many as Saudi Arabia, surprised many people.

Approaching Europe

But coach Pizzi also had to admit: "In the coming time, we will have to change our football philosophy. At the national level, coaches need time to do this. You know, the Japanese team has many players and coaches who have gone abroad and played football in Europe."

Most of Saudi Arabia's attacks were within the calculations of the Japanese players and they all had quite gentle solutions. Even at the end of the match, coach Moriyasu Hajime only had to use 3 substitutions because Japan's playing style was not energy-consuming.

Coach Moriyasu Hajime admitted that Vietnam is a tough opponent. Photo: AFC

In fact, to achieve such a level of playing, disrupting the opponent's play, slowing down the game's speed is not something that every team can do. "When they return, they will bring with them their playing experience and the quality of the domestic championship will be improved. From our perspective, I want the Saudis to also look outward like that" - Coach Pizzi wished so.

It is clear that both Coach Park Hang-seo and Coach Moriyasu Hajime share the same football philosophy. Both believe that defending the home team's goal is a priority over scoring. The advantage is that Coach Moriyasu Hajime has more excellent students even though they lost star Yoshinori Muto. The striker of Newcastle Club has received enough penalty cards and will not be able to play in the match against Vietnam on January 24.

Regardless of the result of the match between Vietnam and Japan, Vietnamese football still needs to learn from its opponents, creating conditions for many players to go abroad to improve their skills and tactical thinking...

AT