"The goal of winning." Why did manager Il find the 'World Cup Final Stadium'... "We aim to win as dark horses"

*This content was translated by AI.

Harjime Moriyasu (58), the head coach of the Japanese national soccer team, is aiming to win the World Cup.

According to 'Nikkan Sports' on the 1st, Moriyasu said in a New Year's interview, "This year is the World Cup, so wouldn't it be a 'win (勝)'?" I want to do it by sticking to the results," he said.

Early last year, he picked Jin (進), which means "getting better," and led various achievements for the Japanese national team. Except for the 2026 North American World Cup host countries (USA, Canada, and Mexico) in March, they advanced to the World Cup finals the fastest. He then beat Korea in July to win the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship. In October, he surprised soccer fans around the world by defeating Brazil 3-2, which beat South Korea 5-0. This is why Japanese soccer is currently at its peak.

Japan showed its potential by reaching the round of 16 by defeating strong teams Germany and Spain in succession at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Now Moriyasu is running with the goal of 'World Cup victory'.

In Group F of the North American World Cup group stage, Japan belonged to the Netherlands, Tunisia, and European Playoffs (PO) Pass B. Ukraine and Sweden, Poland and Albania will face off in Pass B, of which the winning team belongs to Group F.

After the World Cup draw held in Washington, DC, early last month, Moriyasu toured Met Live Stadium in New Jersey, the U.S., where the final will be held. Japan will play the first to third group games at AT&T Stadium (USA), Estadio BBVA (Mexico), and Arrowhead Stadium (USA). Coach Moriyasu was interested in visiting the stadium where Japan's group match was not held.

Asked if he imagined lifting the trophy, he said, "I went with the thought of wanting to see the final stage rather than that. I also thought I wanted to play on that stage," he said.

The Japan Football Association aims to win the World Cup within 2050. Coach Moriyasu said, "Now is the stage where we are aiming to win with a dark horse, and we will be on top as a clear favorite in 2050. In the process, I have a great heart to become stronger than now and go into the future. It is ideal to grow by winning," he added.

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*This content was translated by AI.