This is what Hong Myung-bo, the world's No. 1 relaxed player, cried out for the World Cup victory when he was worried about Jordan

Mar 23, 2025

Japanese soccer, which was the first in the world to win a ticket to the World Cup finals, has launched the World Cup Win mode in earnest.

The Japanese daily 'Nikan Sports' reported on the 21st that the Japanese national soccer team, which decided to advance to the World Cup finals for the eighth consecutive time in history, will speed up to win the North-China World Cup, which will open in June next year, and plan to win the 2026 North-China World Cup through the team's level-up and the sense of unity between the national team and the people.

The media continued 'Beating Bahrain the day before, obtaining the longest preparation period of 448 days. However, the team aiming to win the World Cup cannot afford to rest. We need to elevate everyone to the top of the world,' he added. Japan won 2-0 against Bahrain at Saitama Stadium in Yokohama with consecutive goals from Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) and Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) in the second half. With six wins, one draw and 19 points in seven games, he won the ticket to the finals with three more games left in the group stage.

At a press conference held in downtown Chiba on the 21st, coach Hajime Moriyasu responded to the question "Isn't it too easy to be anxious?" He "You must always challenge yourself to evolve even a little more than you are today. We must continue to do our best for the future," he stressed.

He also stressed that individual players should focus on improving their skills for the rest of the year and increase their team power.

'Nikan Sports' introduced Moriyasu's remarks, saying, "'The Japanese national team sincerely aims to win the World Cup, so it is also demanding understanding from the surrounding people.' Moriyasu voiced his voice, "When I look at the World Cup winners in the past, I feel that if I don't have the interests of the country, I can't win it."

`Nikan Sports' said that public interest is one of the factors that will help Japan achieve its goals, saying, "(It) creates a big wave in the main competition, and) increases the possibility of achieving a feat.' Japan, which began participating in the 1998 World Cup in France, has the best record so far (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022).

Winger Gubo, who is known to be close to Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), wants to meet with a team that Japan has not clashed with recently, including Italy"Morocco has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, and the best opponent you can think of now," he said, pointing to the two teams he wanted to face off against.

Japan will hold sparring with world powers after completing all World Cup qualifiers in June, and Kubo stressed the importance of increasing the 'success experience' before the main tournament. When South Korea, whose goal of 'finalizing the finals in March' was canceled due to a 1-1 draw with Oman, is concerned about the match against Jordan on the 25th, it is looking at the World Cup finals, not the home game of the eighth round of the third qualifying round against Saudi Arabia.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.