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The story
On November 3, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the postponement of the Asian Cup, which had been set to take place in Saudi Arabia starting next January. A string of attacks on international airports and other sites in the country has reportedly occurred, and the new dates are expected to run from December 23, 2027 to January 21, 2028. Japan’s national team had reportedly been planning to hand the manager’s job to coach Go Oiwa next March, but the postponement has raised the possibility that manager Hajime Moriyasu could stay on. On 5ch, opinions are split between those hoping he stays and those calling for an early change, with some also voicing concern that the new schedule overlaps with qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on the 3rd that it will postpone the Asian Cup, which had been set to kick off in Saudi Arabia next January. Pending approval from the organizing committee, the new dates are expected to run from December 23, 2027 to January 21, 2028.
Concerns had been mounting over the situation in Saudi Arabia, where there had been a series of attacks on international airports and other sites. In a statement, the AFC said, “Circumstances have arisen that make it difficult to hold and run the tournament as originally planned, and out of consideration for the interests of all participating teams, officials, spectators, and other stakeholders, a postponement has become necessary.”
It went on to explain, “The AFC will work closely with the LOC, participating member associations, and our valued sponsors, broadcast and commercial partners, and all other stakeholders to minimize the impact of the postponement while ensuring the event maintains the prestige and outstanding operational standards befitting Asia’s most prestigious men’s national team competition.”
Source: tokyo-sports.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
He's already shown his limits
The players have shown their limits too
I don't see how changing coaches is supposed to make the team any stronger
Haneda's there, so it's fine either way
He probably doesn't want to push that back too much
Most people who actually know soccer, or work in it, seem to think he's done enough already
But this tournament is genuinely great
Couldn't they have just held it in a different country instead?
Is coach Hasebe running the senior team?
Nishino's 46-day tenure = Moriyasu's 8-years-4-months tenure = both reached the round of 16
No way Moriyasu stays on
It's already obvious friendly-match results mean nothing, so go watch Japanese players in top-level football overseas instead
Moriyasu was the real brains behind Nishino anyway
Don't you feel anything looking at the neighbors?
Getting knocked out in the round of 32 at the World Cup
Even Jofuku could've managed that (Toshiya Jofuku, a lower-tier J-League manager)
It's obvious by now that teams sticking with a domestic manager for 10 years are the ones who evolve into powerhouses
Especially in the modern game — just look at what happened to Man United and the other "Big Six" clubs from constantly swapping managers, and not only at national-team level, it's clear
Don't just string together words for the sake of being a contrarian, lol
The countries you cited actually got results — are you saying round of 16 or round of 32 is good enough?
Club football is a completely different situation
If you think Moriyasu's hit his ceiling and that the team's improvement really came from having more staff and players with European experience
then a change makes sense — even if it turns out a few years from now everyone's begging for Moriyasu back anyway
How exactly has Moriyasu evolved? He's used the same players the whole time
That's just stagnation
A manager who gets rattled by Brazil is a non-starter
Huh? Do you even know his record at Gamba?
Fair enough — judging by the performances, the team did get stronger, but the Sweden match put a dent in that
They even scored first against Brazil but couldn't adjust when the other side switched up its attacking plan
Key players were out too, so some say they did well under the circumstances, but every country deals with that
Background and key points of this discussion
Hajime Moriyasu has managed Japan’s senior national team for more than eight years, since 2018 after the Russia World Cup, and at the 2026 World Cup the team was eliminated in the round of 32 (the first knockout round). A handover to coach Go Oiwa this coming March had widely been seen as settled, but the Asian Cup’s postponement — triggered by worsening security conditions in Saudi Arabia — has raised a new question: who will be in charge for the new schedule (late 2027 to early 2028)? The thread split between those calling for an early change based on the World Cup result, and those who credit Moriyasu, even if his results have come mostly in friendlies, and support keeping him on. Some also pointed out that the new schedule could overlap with qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics age-group team, raising practical concerns about how duties would be split between the senior squad and the youth squads. Worth noting: the postponement itself was driven by the security situation and has no direct connection to the managerial decision — an easy point to misread.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Hayabusa+) thread “[Soccer] Asian Cup Postponement Sparks Calls for Moriyasu to “Stay On”: “Give Him One More Year,” “Might as Well Be Four”.”
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