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The story
The Japan national team’s planned friendly match on December 30 will be against Vietnam, ranked 99th in the FIFA rankings, Sports Nippon reported on October 11, 2026. Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka is the leading candidate for the venue, with the match serving as a send-off ahead of the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, which kicks off January 7 next year. Vietnam fields many naturalized players born in Brazil and Slovakia, and lost to Thailand and Malaysia at September’s ASEAN Cup amid a string of injuries to key players, but there’s reportedly a good chance those players will be back by late December. On 5ch, discussion centered on the point of scheduling a friendly against the 99th-ranked side, the difficulty of calling up Europe-based players outside an official FIFA match window, and the behind-the-scenes reality that few countries are willing to travel to Japan at year’s end.
Sports Nippon [2026-10-11 05:00]
It emerged on the 10th that Vietnam is the likely opponent for the friendly match the Japan national team is planning for December 30. Panasonic Stadium Suita in Osaka is the leading candidate for the venue. The Japan Football Association has been focusing its search on countries placed in a different Asian Cup group from Japan’s. According to multiple sources, negotiations are going smoothly and have already moved into the stage of hammering out details. If it goes ahead, the match would serve as a send-off for what is expected to be the capstone of manager Moriyasu’s tenure: the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, opening January 7 next year.
Vietnam, ranked 99th by FIFA, is Southeast Asia’s number two behind Thailand at 93rd. They missed out on the 2026 World Cup in North/Central America after being eliminated in the AFC’s second qualifying round, but they’re no pushover thanks to a large contingent of naturalized players originally from countries like Brazil and Slovakia. At the ASEAN Cup held September 24 to October 5, a wave of injuries contributed to losses against Thailand and Malaysia and a fourth-place finish, but there’s a good chance the three Brazilian-born naturalized players currently out with injuries will be fit again by late December.
Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
This board bans posting from fans of any country ranked 30th or better in the FIFA rankings
It's the final tune-up during the Asian Cup training camp.
Last time they played Thailand.
Save the actual friendlies for opponents outside Asia that we don't normally face.
Matches against teams outside Asia come with high appearance fees, so we can't do that often — it has to pay for itself through ticket sales and broadcast rights.
Seriously, the JFA's garbage management needs to be swapped out already.
Honestly, Thailand and Vietnam are about the only ones willing to fly over if you invite them around the New Year's holidays.
No source, huh?
There were reports before too about the Japan Football Association dodging this even in the off-season. Because it's directly tied to firing the manager 🤭
No source, lol
Even if you invite them hoping for that, it's pointless — their Europe-based players won't fly back for a friendly at year's end.
1. Soccer
2. Badminton
3. Swimming
4. Basketball
5. Cycling
6. Volleyball
7. Cricket
8. Table tennis
9. Tennis
10. Boxing
http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/samuraigoal/imgs/a/c/ac7ab344.png
Soccer's #1 in Vietnam too.
Countries where soccer isn't the most popular sport are rare enough to count on two hands worldwide.
South America just finished a full round of matches.
That leaves Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam — not sure if there's much point to it or not.
Well, it does have a point since it's right before the Asian Cup kicks off on 1/7.
The Christmas timing is what kills it.
Are you dumb?
There's no way we can play a decent European team when it's not even a FIFA match week.
Japan, the US, China, and India — big economies, but soccer's not popular there and the teams are weak.
That's exactly why the 'king of sports' title for soccer doesn't feel like the true pinnacle of athletics.
In China basketball's #1, soccer's popular too but the team is weak — kind of similar to Japan.
In Japan baseball's #1 and soccer's the weak one.
I will never forgive you.
I'm never watching again.
That sounds like something only creepy otaku would be fans of.
You should see it for real — Kubo's dribble that got past Haruka Fukuhara's (a Japanese actress) stubborn defense is the genuine article.
I wonder what lineup they'll use.
Will they call up domestic-league players, or players from leagues whose seasons break early?
Yeah, it's wild how many replies say 'play someone outside Asia' without getting that.
This is just a cash-grab exhibition.
Most leagues are in their winter break at that point, so they can call players up — just not the Premier League guys.
US, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia,
the Philippines, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Finland, New Zealand, Dominican Republic,
Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Lithuania, Cuba, Sri Lanka
Soccer's the most popular sport in China and South Korea though.
The rest sounds about right.
Does the Premier League even play that day?
High school soccer's on that day, you know.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Choosing a friendly opponent is heavily constrained by the fact that late December falls outside the official FIFA match-day calendar. Some European leagues are in their winter break, but players from leagues without a break can’t be called up, which narrows the field to countries actually willing to accept the burden of long-distance travel to Japan. The thread saw calls for an opponent from outside Southeast Asia, but it’s worth keeping in mind — background the original article doesn’t get into — that organizers need the match to turn a profit as a commercial event, and that it’s customary to pick a tune-up opponent from outside Japan’s own Asian Cup group. It’s also worth remembering that a friendly’s purpose is squad adjustment and building cohesion ahead of the main tournament, not a contest measured by the opponent’s FIFA ranking. The back-and-forth between posters who question the match’s value based on the ranking gap and those who accept it as a tune-up never quite meets in the middle — a familiar pattern in these send-off-match threads.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Soccer] Moriyasu’s Japan to Clash with Vietnam (FIFA #99) on 12/30! Panasonic Stadium Likely Venue for Asian Cup Send-Off Match.”
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