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The story
On October 1, in their opening Kirin Cup match at Yokohama International Stadium, Japan’s national team faced Ecuador and battled to a scoreless 0-0 draw before narrowly winning the penalty shootout 5-4. Forward Kaina Tanimura, making his first-ever start for the senior national team, was substituted off at halftime, and after the match admitted he keenly felt the gap with the world’s best, saying “I couldn’t do anything right” and “I can’t cut it at this level.” On 5ch, discussion went beyond Tanimura’s individual performance to broader team issues — Yuito Suzuki’s missed chances, questions over how Ayase Ueda was used after coming on in the second half, and worries that the next generation of strikers simply isn’t developing.
Unable to convert his chances. Frustration laid bare
Kaina Tanimura, pulled from the pitch after just the first half, didn’t hide his frustration after the match.
Japan faced Ecuador on October 1 in their opening Kirin Cup match at Yokohama International Stadium, winning the penalty shootout 5-4 after the game finished 0-0.
Source: soccerdigestweb.com / Original article here
What people said
More than Tanimura, the real problem was Yuito Suzuki missing shot after shot.
Ao Tanaka's incredible through ball → Tanimura → Suzuki, and the fact that it didn't end in a goal is painful.
https://x.com/98sep10/status/2105637314286477595
Maybe they brought Ueda on in the second half just to have him for penalties, but the shot chances in this match all came in the first half, so honestly I think starting Ueda from kickoff would've actually won them the game in regulation. As for the shootout, every kick except Soma's was read by the keeper and it was razor-thin — against a Croatia-level goalkeeper that probably doesn't work.
He's holding up Ao's Premier League-honed, lightning-fast passes like a god lol
Ueda was developed by Marinos too, you know.
He probably just couldn't convince himself he should shoot — he said himself the level is that high. He should just say screw it and let it fly…
Ao Tanaka shoots plenty for his club and is genuinely top-class at scoring, but with the national team he clearly holds back and sticks to defending, creating chances, covering gaps — playing the invisible helper role. Feels like Moriyasu might be giving some weird mentality-based instructions behind the scenes with the national team.
Let's boil down Kento Shiogai's fingernail dirt and make everyone drink it lol (an idiom meaning "try to learn from your betters")
I don't think so. I bet Koki Ogawa, who delivered results right away, gets brought back instead.
Even when Ueda or Zion Suzuki do nothing, Moriyasu's drawn to their talent so they keep getting called up. Everyone else stops getting picked if they don't produce results.
Lucky Ueda, getting chance after chance.
Moriyasu kept playing Ueda no matter how bad he was — and that led to huge failures at the Olympics and the Qatar World Cup. He'd probably keep using Tanimura too if he were 23 or under, but well, can't be helped.
Ueda couldn't do anything at the Qatar World Cup either. It's only natural that Goto and Shiogai can't do much yet. They're still young, so Moriyasu might keep calling them up to help them grow.
Next up is Michiwaki…
Even Ogawa gets dropped from the squad. Still, compared to the younger guys, Ogawa and Tanimura are the better players. But Moriyasu might pick Goto or Shiogai anyway, just based on age.
Maeda, Tanimura, Ogawa, Goto, Shiogai — it'll come down to a fight between these guys for the Asian Cup. Skill versus youth.
Nobody's asking him to dribble past defenders and smash in a goal. That's the lowest bar of any country's demands on its forwards.
Kiyota's fanboys don't seem to realize he actually makes his living playing soccer.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The Kirin Cup is a friendly tournament, and Tanimura’s first start can be seen as an experimental look at a next-generation candidate. While some argue it’s premature to judge him on results alone, the thread showed notable concern over how Ayase Ueda has been used and over the stalled development of young players like Keisuke Goto and Kento Shiogai. Worth noting: Tanimura’s individual performance wasn’t uniquely bad — plenty of forwards, including Yuito Suzuki, also failed to convert clear chances — so pinning the blame solely on Tanimura doesn’t quite match what actually happened in the match. Also, a handful of posts about unrelated topics like currency exchange rates and politics appeared in the thread but were excluded from this article as irrelevant to the main topic.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geisokuho+) thread “[Soccer] “I Can’t Do Anything Right” — The “World-Class Standard” Japan Debutant Kaina Tanimura Felt Firsthand. “I Can’t Cut It at This Level As I Am””.
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