*This content was translated by AI.
Harjime Moriyasu (58), the head coach of the Japanese national soccer team, explained the specific reason for choosing the 2026 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup base camp as Nashville.
According to Japan's "Sankei Sports," Moriyasu watched a match between Kawasaki Frontale and Mito Holyhawk at Todoroki Athletics Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan, on the 1st.
Coach Moriyasu, who met with reporters after the game, was asked about the Japanese national team's selection for the World Cup camp site. Japan has decided to set up pre-World Cup camp in Monterrey, Mexico, and base camp in Nashville, USA.
Japan will face the winners of Group B of the Dutch, Tunisian and European playoffs in Group F of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup group stage. Japan will play the first game against the 'Kangho' Netherlands at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on June 14 local time. He will then cross the border and face Tunisia on the 20th at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico. After that, he will return to Dallas and play the final third game against the winners of Group B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, and Albania) of the European Playoffs on the 25th.
On choosing hot Monterey as a pre-camp site, Moriyasu said, "The Dallas Stadium, where the group league game is held, is a dome stadium and has good cooling facilities. But training in the hottest Monterey with heat wave measures will help prepare for future games in other hot areas," he said.
"We decided that the process of adapting to the heat in advance will act as a positive factor in overcoming the competition," he explained.
He also revealed why he chose Nashville as the base camp for Dallas, where Games 1 and 3 will be held. Immediately after the draw in December last year, Moriyasu made a comprehensive evaluation by looking at both Dallas and Nashville facilities. The distance between Dallas and Nashville is about 1000km, which takes about two hours by plane.
"We have found a place where players can train with high concentration in a pleasant environment," Moriyasu said. "When comparing the training ground and hotel infrastructure of Dallas and Nashville, we judged that Nashville was a much better environment to stay comfortable."
Setting up a camp in Dallas, where the game is played, can reduce travel time, but if you stay in Nashville, you will inevitably have to travel by plane every game.
Coach Moriyasu drew the line, saying, "It's true that flight travel is involved, but I don't think it's too much of a burden." It is an opinion that the comfort of the training environment takes precedence over the inconvenience of movement. He said, "The quality of the training environment that I live every day is directly related to my performance. "Dallas's weather is quite hot, so the quality of training can deteriorate, and if the quality of training does not improve, it cannot eventually lead to good performance in the game," he said.
Meanwhile, the South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, confirmed its base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, to adapt to the highlands. Akron Stadium, where the first and second group games will be held, is 1,571 meters above sea level, and the base camp is located just 5 kilometers away from here.
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*This content was translated by AI.
