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The story
On the 14th, Japan’s national team came from behind to beat Brazil, ranked 6th in the world by FIFA, 3-2 in an international friendly held in Singapore. With next January’s Asian Cup postponed and the friendly scheduled for December 30th cancelled, the match against Paraguay on the 17th will effectively be coach Hajime Moriyasu’s last game in charge — making this win over Brazil his second career victory over them. After the match, Moriyasu told fans, “Sorry about the World Cup,” while also declaring, “In a future World Cup, Japan will definitely become world champions.” Reactions on 5ch split between those praising the upset win right before his departure and those cautioning that a friendly result doesn’t reflect real tournament form.
International friendly (14th, Japan 3-2 Brazil, Singapore National Stadium) — Japan, ranked 17th by FIFA, took on 6th-ranked Brazil in this international friendly. In a revenge match following their Round of 16 loss to Brazil at the World Cup, Japan raced to a two-goal lead, were pegged back level, but snatched a dramatic winner in second-half stoppage time.
With next January’s Asian Cup postponed and the international friendly planned for December 30th now cancelled, this became coach Hajime Moriyasu’s final activity in charge. The match against Paraguay on the 17th will be his last as head coach.
Right before stepping down, he pulled off another huge upset over five-time World Cup champions Brazil. Since taking charge in 2018, Japan has now gone 2-2 against Brazil across four meetings — despite losing 1-2 to them in the Round of 16 at the World Cup. Japan also beat Brazil 3-2 last October at Ajinomoto Stadium, the first-ever win over Brazil in team history.
Source: sanspo.com / Original article here
What people said
Not happening unless Ohtani's on the team.
Anyone who kept whining "it's all Moriyasu's fault" (a dig at his constant critics) just showed they have zero eye for talent — embarrassing.
If they'd used today's starting lineup against Brazil at the World Cup, they'd have won 3-2.
Brazil were the better team overall.
Moriyasu did a good job under the circumstances.
They're only tough in friendlies lmao
This guy's the undisputed "friendly-match champion" lmao (mocking a coach/team that only looks strong in exhibition games)
They just beat the 6th-ranked team in the world.
Beat Spain and Germany at the World Cup.
Became the first Asian team ever to beat Brazil, even if it was a friendly — then beat them again.
Beat Germany again in a friendly after the World Cup too.
Plus a string of wins over other top nations.
Winning friendlies or qualifiers doesn't really mean much.
If you can't win when it counts, it's pointless.
He hasn't actually won a title though.
Tanaka Ao and Machida Koki, who weren't starters at the World Cup, were really good.
Nakano's also way better than Sugawara.
Tanaka Ao started against Tunisia and Sweden at the World Cup, and the BBC gave him Man of the Match in both — tons of former pros praised him as MVP-level too.
If he'd started against Brazil, they probably would've won.
Ohiwa's got zero buzz, no charisma either…
Assuming soccer and Japan still exist by then.
Why bother replacing him?
This is exactly why bandwagon fans ("niwaka") are like this.
If you can't win at the World Cup, it doesn't mean anything.
Overall, Japan was clearly outclassed.
This was basically a win by luck.
Troussier: "Like I said on the World Cup highlights show — before talking big about becoming world champions, he should focus on finally getting past the Round of 16 first."
Way too early to be holding the Asian Cup.
First, Japan needs to produce a player who becomes a top scorer on the world stage.
Even Egypt — heck, even Korea — has produced a top scorer in a genuinely elite league, you know.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Since taking over in 2018, coach Hajime Moriyasu has repeatedly beaten the likes of Spain and Germany at the World Cup only to fall in the Round of 16 each time. This win came amid next January’s Asian Cup being postponed and the December 30th friendly being cancelled, making it effectively his farewell win before the 17th’s match against Paraguay, his last in charge. Opinions on the thread split over how much credit a friendly result deserves — some praised the fact that Japan’s record against Brazil since 2018 now stands at 2-2, while others cautioned that “it means nothing if you can’t win when it counts.” There was also discussion praising the use of players who weren’t starters at the World Cup, which led into a broader reflection on the squad selection for the tournament itself.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Soccer] Coach Moriyasu greets fans after the match: “Sorry about the World Cup… Japan will definitely become world champions in a future World Cup”“.
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