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The story
In the men’s soccer group stage of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Japan faced Hong Kong at Toyota Stadium ahead of the opening ceremony. While tournament rules allow U23-age squads to add overage players, Japan announced a starting lineup made up entirely of U21 players, with an eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics generation — and reactions poured in on 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports Breaking News+ board even before kickoff. Threads tangled together doubts about the tournament’s very purpose and takes on individual players, fueled by the thin lineup (with Europe-based players yet to join up) and the contrast with other nations making full use of their overage slots.
◇Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Men’s Soccer Group A Opener: Japan vs. Hong Kong (September 16, 2026, Toyota Stadium)
Men’s soccer kicked off ahead of the opening ceremony, with the U-21 Japan squad — representing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics generation — taking on the U-23 Hong Kong squad. The lineups were announced ahead of the match.
▽Japan’s starting lineup vs. Hong Kong
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
It's technically a U23 tournament, but Japan is voluntarily going in with U21 only, looking ahead to the Olympics two years from now
There are like 3 overage slots(?) too, but it's basically under-23
The tournament itself is U23 plus overage players, so for example South Korea has around ten 23-year-olds and some teams are using their overage slots to the max, while Japan, as usual, is going with younger players only
That's zero motivation, honestly
I could understand it elsewhere, but this tournament's being held in Nagoya
Ishii, Ozeki, Pisano, and Mori are all getting minutes though
Feels like a lineup built around managing fatigue rather than actually trying
I don't even get what this tournament is supposed to be for
It's a tournament only countries with military-service exemptions on the line actually go all-out for
ever made it to the senior national team
that's the impression I have
The rest aren't anywhere close yet
Hong Kong is listed as 'Hong Kong, China'
they just never called up the better players to begin with
1st string: senior national team
2nd string: senior team minus the regulars
3rd string: mostly domestic-league players
4th string: Olympic squad
5th string: U-21 squad ← this one
It's even lower than that, there aren't even any Europe-based players
Well, then this is what you get
there are only 6 outfield substitutes lol
Honestly, at this point they should just grant military-service exemptions to athletes who've reached a certain level and bring economic value, without requiring a gold medal or anything
Michiwaki Yutaka did turn pro at 16 and take a shot at Europe at 18, so he's kept making headlines one way or another
hoping he can finally break out at this tournament
People are about to discover how good-looking Ozeki is
Out there in the world, there are guys already playing at the World Cup and starring at 18, 19.
今
こ
こ
か
ら
(reading down: 今ここから, "Starting right here, right now") — fly, young samurai
Not in any real/meaningful sense, though
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The Asian Games men’s soccer tournament runs under U23 rules that allow overage players, and countries like South Korea — where a medal can mean exemption from military service — tend to field their strongest possible squads, overage slots and all. Japan, by contrast, prioritized building up its 2028 Los Angeles Olympics generation and fielded a U21-only squad without using any overage slots. The “thin lineup” flagged in the thread is partly down to scheduling too — Europe-based players often can’t join until later in the tournament — so it isn’t necessarily just a sign of the federation not trying. The squad does include players with senior national team experience, such as Ozeki and Pisano Alex Yukifuyu Horio, so it’s easy to overlook that the generation’s top talent isn’t entirely missing.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Asian Games] Men’s Soccer U21 Japan Squad, Hong Kong Match Lineup Announced [TBS].”
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