Calcutta: An eye on the knock-out rounds… That’s what Japan will be doing from now on.
With a good chance of making the Round of 16, keeping in mind that their Saturday rivals are whipping boys New Caledonia, Japan are likely to test their bench strength in the Group E match of the Fifa U-17 World Cup.
This means the Salt Lake Stadium will not be able to watch teen sensation Takefusa Kub, known as the Japanese Messi. Kubo may play a part in the latter stage of the match if the going gets tough.
Kubo was part of FC Barcelona’s fabled La Masia, but had to return to Tokoyo after the Catalan club was found to have violated Fifa’s international transfer policy for under-18 youths, making him ineligible to play for the club.
The Japan coach, though, refused to believe that his team banks heavily on Kubo and Keito Nakamura. Keito, for the record, scored three against Honduras.
Japan had made a bright start to the tournament routing Honduras 6-1, but lost to France 1-2. “We need to win in order to go to the next round.
“There are some players who are eager to play on the pitch and we will know who can be the key ones when we get to the next stage. So, we will have some new players and some who played in the previous two matches, as balance can be maintained by that," coach Yoshiro Moriyama told reporters after their first training session, here, on Friday.
If Japan finish second, with France topping the group, they will face England if the latter top Group F. England have a clean slate after two games and will be facing Iraq in the other game here on Saturday.
“England are a strong team with strong individuals. Using our passes and our strength, we can play a good game and we will play our football,” midfielder Naoki Tsubaki said when asked about the prospect of facing England.
By the way, this is the first time a Japanese team will be playing in the city since the Zico-coached Japan senior team came here back in 2004 for a World Cup qualifier against India. The hosts had lost 0-4 and the city its face after a power cut had plunged the stadium into darkness.
Hopefully, something similar won’t happen on Saturday.
