The first opponent of the national football team in the round of 18 is Japan, and on September 5, the national football team will challenge the Japan team away. Japan coach Hoichi Mori is inspecting the players, and after watching the J-League leader Machida live, he is also following the matches between Japan club teams and European teams visiting Japan, so that he can get a closer look at the form of Japan players playing for European teams. In addition, Japanese media are also recommending outstanding Japan Olympic team players to Mori Boichi, hoping that outstanding young players can enter the round of 18 squad to be announced soon.
A number of European teams have played commercial games in Japan this summer, including Real Sociedad, Brighton & Hove Albion and Reims, all of which have Japanese players playing, and the Moriboichi coaching staff will look at the latest form of Japan internationals such as Kenei Kubo, Kaoru Mikasa, Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura.
Mikasa suffered a back injury in February, and this is his return to competition after a five-month absence. Moriyasu watched Tottenham's commercial match against Vissel Kobe last Saturday to speak with Australia coach Postecoglou, and yesterday he watched Brighton's commercial match against Tokyo Green, assessing Mikasa. Previously, Moriboichi also communicated with Kenei Kubo.
In addition, Moriyasu watched the match between J1 League leader Machida and Yokohama Marinos on July 20. The match set a record for the number of spectators in the history of Machida FC (46,401), and Moriyasu praised the game after the game, and Japan fans were more concerned about how many J-League players would be selected for the Japan national team in the round of 18. During the June international break, Mori gave Machida goalkeeper Akio Tani and wide player Yuki Soma a chance. However, Yuki Soma was still playing in Portugal at the time, and only went on loan to Machida in July. In addition, the players who have been shortlisted for the J-League are goalkeeper Tokuya Maekawa, Keisuke Osako and Yuto Nagatomo, who is 37 years old.
Recently, Mori and his coaching staff have been very busy, some of them are scouting players in Japan, and some of them are going to Europe to pay attention to the state of foreign players. Japan players have played in Europe in the summer window, with Japan's main goalkeeper Ayaki Suzuki joining Parma in Serie A, right-back Yuki Sugawara joining Southampton in the Premier League from AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie, winger Takuma Asano joining Mallorca in La Liga, and Hiroki Ito, who just joined Bayern, as well as Seiya Umuma (Alkmaar in the Eredivisie), Takumu Kawamura (Red Bull Salzburg) and striker Yu Hirakawa (Bristol City), who is playing in the Olympics in Paris. The Japan Overseas Army is even larger, which makes Mori Boichi add a new "happy trouble".
Defender Sano Kaishu, who was selected for the Japan national team for the first time last year and substituted against Viet Nam and Indonesia in the group stage of the Asian Cup at the beginning of the year, only completed the transfer to Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on July 3, and was arrested by Japan police on July 14 for sexually assaulting a woman with two other men in a hotel in Tokyo. The 23-year-old has pleaded guilty and is likely to face five years in prison. Japan coach Mori Hoichi expressed regret over the arrest of Sano Kaishu: "This is a shame, I will continue to monitor the players, take caution, and do not do anything that violates the law." ”
Japan international Junya Ito, who was also suspected of sexual assault during the Asian Cup in January, is also uncertain whether he will return to the Japan national team. Unlike Sano Kaishu, June Ito, who plays for Reims in Ligue 1, is also a main player for the Japan team, and the Japan Football Association is still waiting for the progress of the legal proceedings before making a final decision. As soon as the matter was revealed during the Asian Cup, under pressure from sponsors, Junya Ito left the national team, but he could continue to play in Ligue 1. Unlike Sano Kaishu, who was arrested red-handed, the Osaka Prefectural Police only sent a letter of investigation to Junya Ito and the prosecution on July 2, and there will be no definite conclusion for the time being. According to Japanese media reports, Coach Mori Hoichi once told the top management of the Japan Football Association that he believed that Jun Ito did not commit a crime. But until the police investigation acquits him, Jun Ito is unlikely to return to the Japan national team. Without Junya Ito, Japan were very consistent during the international break in March and June, winning four in a row and keeping clean sheets in all of them.
In the men's football match at the Paris Olympics, the Japan Olympic team won both games, and the mixed-race goalkeeper Reio Kokubo, who played for St. Tryden in the first division, played well, not only made many wonderful saves, but also forced the Malian players to shoot the crucial penalty.
In the final of the U23 Asian Cup in May, Reio Kokubo saved a penalty kick from Uzbekistan to ensure that Japan won the championship. Japanese media "China-Japan Sports" called on Mori to let Reio Kokubo replace Aya Suzuki, who has been unstable, as the goalkeeper of the Japan team in the round of 18. In addition, Japan Olympic captain Jeanru Fujita and midfielder Rihito Yamamoto also performed well, and were considered by the Japanese media to be fully qualified for the round of 18.