On June 30 at 1 a.m. Beijing time (CEST), Japan will face Brazil in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16. On the eve of the match, Japan's head coach Moriyasu Yoshiichi attended a press conference. This is part three of that press conference.

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From our observations, the Japan national team displays a very clear, distinctive, and unique identity—or a highly characteristic style of play. Every time we watch your team play on the pitch, these characteristics are immediately apparent. For observers like us, it's quite easy to grasp and understand what kind of football your team ultimately wants to play and what your core requirements and intentions are in tactical setup and execution. But I'd like to ask: when facing an opponent at Brazil's level—that is, when an incredibly strong and dominant team like Brazil is on the opposite side of the pitch—would you consider abandoning, flexibly adjusting, or adapting this established fixed style and team identity in order to achieve the extremely difficult goal of overcoming Brazil? Thank you for your response.

Exactly right. As you say, regarding whether we should change Japan's football identity, I personally believe there is absolutely no need to change it. Rather, I believe Japan's team identity is extremely unique and special from a global perspective, and we have many wonderful aspects we can be proud of on the world stage. Therefore, this is a treasure that should be inherited and maintained unwavering as we look toward the future.

If I absolutely must consider what is still lacking in Japanese football, I believe it is not identity but rather what might be called "experience." The reason is that most Japanese players have historically played in the domestic league, with only a small number playing abroad—on what is called the "world stage." As a result, Japanese players have long been confined by and struggled with the large gap between world standards and domestic standards.

However, currently, many players on the Japan national team are active in Europe and sometimes in South America and other regions around the world. While personally experiencing and deeply understanding world standards, they are increasingly raising their ability to truly compete with strong teams on the international stage as representatives of the national team.

Therefore, if under these world-standard demands we can maximize our physical recovery, speed advantages, and the decisiveness and technical execution demonstrated at that extreme pace—in other words, if we can further refine and develop this "individual quality" on the world stage—then conversely, since I believe Japan's inherent organizational strength is a quality to be proud of globally, this improvement in individual ability will represent an "additional strengthening" built upon Japan's original identity.

However, on this point, the Brazilian people have taught us much. Mr. Zico and many other coaches have crossed the ocean to come to Japan and provided direct instruction and guidance. Beyond that, to nurture this world standard within Japan, many Brazilian players continue to contribute light and warmth to Japanese football and have made tremendous contributions to Japanese soccer. Here, I also want to say to them: "Obrigado" (Portuguese).

My main question here is this: It's clear that Brazil is a global powerhouse that you and your team certainly regard highly and have the utmost respect for. But at the same time, the Japan team, as you know, has consistently insisted that you firmly believe this FIFA World Cup can ultimately be won—that you have the confidence and capability to win it. In this particular situation, do you still think there is such a thing as an "underdog" in this matchup? When facing a team like Brazil in such an important, heavyweight match, do you personally tend to adopt or prefer a mindset of being the "underdog" or the "weaker side"? Especially regarding tomorrow's match, how do you think about the overall approach, mental preparation, and strategy regarding the two distinct roles of "favorites" and "underdogs," and the respective mentality of favorite and underdog teams in tomorrow's match?

I think it is quite natural that there is a large gap between Brazil, which is highly regarded globally, and Japan, which is not as highly regarded. We are also continuously improving and genuinely challenging ourselves at this FIFA World Cup, aiming for victory.

When I say this, many people here will probably laugh at us, won't they? Most likely. But for now, this time we are seriously pursuing this goal, or we have awakened to it and are making an effort. By setting a goal this way, I believe that if it's Japanese people, we will definitely be able to reach that level. So some of what I'm saying now is also for the future.

Regarding this FIFA World Cup, Brazil is certainly the top favorite regardless of any tournament. People may not evaluate us that way, but from our perspective, we are a dark horse. Yes. I want to compete with this self-awareness. While showing respect, we also have—as I mentioned before, just like what happened last year—a chance to win, so we will challenge. To change that history once more, to make something like that happen again, we will do our best.

First, with this Round of 16 match drawing the world's attention, I hope we can show the spectators truly wonderful football and create a contest that gives us more confidence for the future.

AI翻訳。

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