On Thursday 22 March, Coach Vahid HALILHODZIC of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) held an official press conference ahead of their International Friendly Match against the Mali National Team, scheduled the next day in Liege, Belgium. With the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 in mind, the coach spoke of his aspiration to “create a winning spiral.”

Regarding the two matches in Belgium the coach explained, “we selected teams that shares similar traits with our scheduled World Cup opponents. Our goal is to win these two matches and create a winning spiral at this stage in March. We must create a good environment and a positive atmosphere.”

The friendly match against the Mali National Team and the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2018 in EUROPE match against the Ukraine National Team on Friday 27 March, will serve as important test matches for Japan, simulating the scheduled World Cup opponents, Senegal National Team and Poland National Team. Coach Halilhodzic indicated his intentions to improve and strengthen the team condition by winning these matches, while checking out the players to determine the final roster for the World Cup.

Regarding their opponent, “the Mali National Team will present us with a typical African style, featuring great power, agility, and explosiveness. They are also very aggressive in one-on-one situations. Many of their players play for big clubs in Europe.” Coach Halilhodzic continued to point out, “They are missing some of their main players, but that could be said for us too. That gives an opportunity for other players to shine, so I want those players to show me what they are capable of and create a tense competition.”

Mali is ranked 67th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Japan sits at 55th. Although they have failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia, in 2015 they were the runner-up in the U-17 FIFA World Cup and finished fourth last year. In the U-20 FIFA World Cup, they finished in third place twice, including 2015, showcasing their spectacular growth in young talents.

Mali will be without eight of their main players due to injuries, including Moussa Marega who plays for FC Porto. However, the rebuilding team consists some of the players featured in the 2015 U-20 World Cup.

Under light rain, both teams held their training session at the match stadium, and Japan walked through their tactics. These sessions were closed to the public besides the first 15 minutes.

Midfielder HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany) mentioned, “Mali has many quality players and they will present us with a great challenge, as they can play very aggressively in critical moments. But overall, I think Senegal is a better team in many ways, including the physical aspects, so we’ll have to be able to play well against this team first.”

Defender SHOJI Gen (Kashima Antlers) showed his intention towards the match, “It’s very important to keep a winning habit, especially heading into the World Cup. So, our goal is to win every game from now on.”

The match will kick-off at 13:20 (21:30 Japan time) at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liege, Belgium.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

Vahid HALILHODZIC, Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
In our last trip ahead of the World Cup, we have chosen to play two matches that simulates our group stage opponents at the World Cup. We are missing four or five players due to injury, and we will be forced to play without them in the starting line-ups. We will seek for possibilities, and players who were given limited playing time in the past will have their opportunity in the second half. We will need to gather as much information as possible ahead of the World Cup. There’re no guarantees that we won’t have players injured at the World Cup, so we must prepare ourselves to play even under the worst-case scenario. To achieve greatness at the World Cup, preparation is essential, and I have told the players what they must do. We must have the right mindset in order to achieve greatness, and we must keep trying. I have told the players that we must find happiness through excruciating trainings. I would like to see their commitment at the match tomorrow.

MF #17 HASEBE Makoto (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany)
Prior to this trip, our coach has mentioned that “in our current condition, we will face a difficult situation at the World Cup,” and I think the players were thinking the same, too. But at the same time, we also believe that if we do the right things, we should get good results. We will have to believe in that and build our confidence by getting good results through the two matches against Mali and Ukraine. In that sense, these two games are very important for us.

FW #8 HARAGUCHI Genki (Fortuna Düsseldorf/Germany)
The five or six games at Düsseldorf has been a great confidence booster for me, and I feel like I can showcase my ability much better than I have last November. It’s my first time playing against an African team, so I hope to get a good feel of their unique style. It is very important that we win. During the time with Hertha, I’ve learned that teams get stronger as they win. Players at Düsseldorf has also gained confidence through winning. We hope to do the same ahead of the World Cup.

FW #13 KOBAYASHI Yu (Kawasaki Frontale)
I feel like I understand what our coach wants from us. As a centre forward, I am not as big as SUGIMOTO or OSAKO, but I hope to showcase my agility and my ability to find spaces behind the opponent’s back. The three of us all share different attributes, so if I can show that I can score in difficult matches, my chances (of making the final roster) should be good. I will insist on getting good results.

Mohamed Magassouba, Coach of Mali National Team
It’s an honour to play against a team like Japan who will play in the FIFA World Cup. Japan is a well-balanced team with great versatility and has many great players. Even though we will not play in the World Cup, we have plenty of motivation as we are in progress of rebuilding the team with many young players. Our players have great talent, motivation, and football philosophy. They have been showing great growth, and they are all looking forward for tomorrow’s match.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

International Friendly Match

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Mali National Team
Friday, 23 March 2018 Kickoff at 13:20 local time (21:20 Japan time)
Belgium/Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Live broadcasting across Japan by TV Asahi
For more information

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Ukraine National Team
Tuesday, 27 March 2018 Kickoff at 14:20 local time (21:20 Japan time)
Belgium/Stade Maurice Dufrasne
For more information