LRAB Chapter 22 is not just about the ball game
Chapter 22 is not just about the ball game
The first-ever clash between Asian teams in World Cup history
This is the headline news on FIFA's official website.
Indeed, Asian teams have always been the weakest in the World Cup, often failing to even make it out of the group stage.
Even if one team manages to break through, it's unlikely that another Asian team will come to "support" them.
If we were to list them in more detail...
Well, in all the previous World Cups, only two Asian teams have ever qualified.
One was North Korea in 1966, and the other was Saudi Arabia in 1994.
Moreover, they failed to win any matches after entering the knockout stage and were defeated.
But this time, with China and Japan meeting in the round of 16, it is certain that one Asian team will advance to the next round of the knockout stage!
Besides China and Japan, the other host country, South Korea, also performed well in the group stage, advancing as the top team in the group with 2 wins and 1 draw.
It can be said that, apart from Saudi Arabia's lackluster performance, China, Japan, and South Korea all delivered impressive performances at this World Cup held in Asia.
However, since South Korea's opponent in the round of 16 is Italy, a traditional powerhouse in the world, no one is optimistic that they can go any further.
Almost everyone believed that the winner between China and Japan would represent Asia in the quarterfinals.
Of course, among these two teams, more people are optimistic about the Japanese team.
After all, the Japanese team is the host country, possessing the advantages of favorable timing, location, and support.
Moreover, their players are a cut above the Chinese team in terms of skill.
At this time, the Japanese team was not yet almost entirely composed of players who would later go to Europe, but it still had some star players.
The most famous of them is their midfield maestro, Hidetoshi Nakata, who currently plays for Parma in Serie A!
At only 25 years old, he has already played in Serie A for many years and once helped Roma win a Serie A title.
At that time, Serie A was still the world's top league, so this championship was highly prestigious.
This season he transferred to Parma for a transfer fee of £1850 million!
This is the highest transfer fee ever paid for an Asian player.
He also helped his team win the Italian Cup with a goal in the final.
It can be said that Hidetoshi Nakata was already a world-class star at this point.
In addition, the Japanese team also boasts players such as Shinji Ono, who plays for Feyenoord; Junichi Inamoto, who plays for Arsenal; and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who plays for Portsmouth.
With strong players like Mitsuo Ogasawara, Masashi Nakayama, and Atsushi Yanagisawa, the Japanese team is confident of defeating the Chinese team.
But at the same time...
On the Chinese side, the same enthusiasm is evident!
To outsiders, the China-Japan match is merely an internal battle between Asian teams.
But every fan familiar with the history knows that this is more than just a football match.
The same applies to the Chinese national football team players who are actively preparing for this match!
……
After resting and recuperating, they returned to the training base.
There was no need for a mobilization meeting or rousing slogans, but the fighting spirit that permeated the training ground spoke louder than a thousand words.
It's time for pre-match tactical preparations again.
When Ye Xian walked into the meeting room with the tactics board, he didn't see the team members' tension, but rather pairs of eyes burning with fire—a fighting spirit that didn't need to be deliberately summoned, a passion for battle.
Milutinovic undoubtedly knew the significance of this match for the Chinese team, so as an "outsider," he refrained from interfering.
Let Ye Xian handle everything!
"I won't say much more, but I can see that everyone is very motivated." Ye Xian's voice was calm, yet it seemed to carry immense power.
His fingertip lightly tapped the Japanese team's lineup on the tactics board: "Today I'll start by talking about the tactical characteristics of this Japanese team."
Then Ye Xian scanned the players' faces and found that some players did not seem as focused as before.
Compared to other European and American opponents, the Japanese team seems too familiar, as many players have faced them more than once.
In the 1998 East Asian Four Nations Tournament, the Chinese team also defeated their opponents 2-0 at the Tokyo National Stadium.
This gives Chinese players a psychological advantage when facing Japan.
This is completely different from playing against Brazil or Türkiye.
Without fear or respect, all I wanted to do was pounce on them and bite them!
But everything in excess is bad!
Ye Xian was prepared for this mentality among the players.
"I know you may think you know the Japanese team very well, after all, they are a long-time rival in Asia."
"I admire fighting spirit, but it would be a big mistake to relax or even underestimate it in terms of tactics."
"Because the current Japanese team is completely different from the Japanese team four years ago."
Ye Xian picked up a pen and began writing on the large whiteboard of the tactics board.
First, here's the starting lineup for the Japanese team during the 98 East Asian Four Nations Tournament.
Goalkeeper: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi;
Defenders: Akira Narahashi, Yutaka Akita, Masami Ihara, Naoki Soma;
Midfielders: Motohiro Yamaguchi, Toshihiro Hattori, Hiroshi Nanami;
Midfielder: Hidetoshi Nakata;
Forwards: Masashi Nakayama, Kazuyoshi Miura.
Then, he wrote down the starting lineup for Japan's previous match, against Tunisia.
Goalkeeper: Seigo Narazaki;
Defenders: Naoki Matsuda, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, Koji Nakata;
Midfielder: Tomokazu Akami, Junichi Inamoto, Kazuyuki Toda, Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono;
Forwards: Takayuki Suzuki, Atsushi Yanagisawa.
Then Ye Xian turned to the players: "Has anyone noticed anything?"
Li Tie raised his hand: "The vast majority of the Japanese players have been replaced."
Ye Xian nodded: "That's right. Apart from their star player Hidetoshi Nakata, the rest of the starting 10 have all been replaced. Do you still think you know this Japanese team well?"
The players remained silent.
But everyone knew in their hearts that Ye Xian was right.
Four years is enough time for a team to completely change.
Therefore, everyone really can't come to the competition with the old mindset.
We still need to listen carefully to Ye Xian's tactical analysis in order to truly understand ourselves and our enemy!
The fact that Ye Xian could directly recite these two Japanese team lineups from memory shows that he must have done very meticulous preparatory work...
Seeing the players' expressions become serious again, Ye Xian nodded in satisfaction.
He also began formal "courses":
"The reason why the Japanese team has undergone such a big change is, of course, because they have changed their head coach."
"After Takeshi Okada was dismissed, French coach Philippe Troussier took over, and the style of play and personnel management changed significantly."
「看黑板，四年前冈田武史主打的是4-4-2或者说是4-3-1-2，但特鲁西埃更喜欢用3-5-2。」
「而且他的这套3-5-2，跟土耳其的3-5-2也是不太一样的……」
The Japanese team under Troussier played a more modern style of football.
This Japanese team still emphasizes passing and teamwork, but they don't overly pursue dribbling and ball control. Instead, they try to advance the ball into the attacking third more quickly to create shooting opportunities.
The prerequisite for achieving this is, of course, that they possess three technically gifted midfielders: Hidetoshi Nakata, Junichi Inamoto, and Shinji Ono.
This ensures a solid defense while providing the Japanese team with the foundation to execute high-quality passing combinations in the attacking third, just outside the penalty area.
This is also the guarantee that the Japanese team has achieved many good results in recent years.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Troussier led the team to the quarterfinals.
In the same year, he led the team to victory in the Asian Cup.
In 2001, in the Confederations Cup, which featured champions from various continents, the Japanese team also made it all the way to the final, ultimately losing 0-1 to France and finishing as runners-up.
In the group stage, Japan also drew 0-0 with Brazil and defeated Canada and Cameroon, thus surpassing Brazil to win the group.
Then, at the Kirin Cup that same year, Japan defeated Yugoslavia and Paraguay to win the championship.
It could be said that it was from the time Troussier took over as coach that the Japanese team gradually rose to the top of the world stage and became an opponent that no one dared to underestimate.
Sigh, on the other hand, the Chinese team...
Thinking about this, Ye Xian couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
In fact, after that 2-0 victory in 1998, the Chinese team did not defeat their opponent again for 28 years.
They even suffered a crushing 0-7 defeat in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"Damn it, I'm going to fight tooth and nail to make the Chinese team win this time, and it has to be in the World Cup knockout stage, on Japan's home turf!"
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