Makoto Teguramori is hoping his Japan side can finally overcome Iraq today and advance to the final of the AFC U-23 Championship having lost twice to the West Asian nation over the last two years in continental competition.
Iraq defeated Teguramori’s team 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the AFC U22 Championship in Oman two years ago before handing them a 3-1 loss in the group stages of the Asian Games in Incheon later the same year.
But with qualification for the Olympic Games as well as a place in the final of the AFC U23 Championship at stake, the former Vegalta Sendai coach thinks his team can overcome doubts about the quality of the current crop of young players.
“Tomorrow’s match will be the crucial game for going to the final and as well as qualifying for the final stage for the Olympic Games, so it will be exciting and challenging,” said Teguramori.
“So far we have played against Iraq twice and we were defeated twice, so at this very important stage we have to face a very strong opponent and this is fate for us. We must overcome Iraq in order to show ourselves on the world stage, so we will try our best to qualify for the final.
“This team and this generation is now in the middle of their growth and they haven’t participated in the FIFA U20 World Cup and we were defeated by Iraq in Oman and at the Asian Games, so all the players know what they have experienced. But this experience will lead to their growth and this is what I believe, so if they can qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this can show the high level of Japanese football.”
Iraq will go into the game without the suspended Safa Jabbar as well as right back Hamzah Adnan, who is injured, but coach Shahad Abdulghani is confident his team can compensate for their loss.
“It’s normal if we miss one or more players,” he said. “Remember against Korea Republic we played with the second team, the substitute players, so all the players are ready and I will decide who will play against Japan. “But be sure we are preparing the players who will be good replacements and I don’t think it will affect the team and its performance. I promise the fans we will give all of our effort to provide a good game and we have the capabilities to do well and to try to win.”
The Iraqis last qualified for the Olympic Games in 2004, when Adnan Hamed steered the country to the semi-finals and in recent years the country has been one of the dominant forces in age group football in Asia. After reaching the final of the AFC U19 Championship in 2012, Iraq won the AFC U22 Championship in Oman two years later.
And while Abdulghani’s team has a positive record against the Japanese, the coach is taking nothing for granted. “The Japanese team is one of the best four teams in the tournament and the Japan team deserves to be in the semis, and statistics are there to confirm their good performance.
“We will try to do our best to use the appropriate style and strategy to counter the Japan team despite the short time since our last game, because the Japanese team had one more day’s rest than our team. Matches in football don’t recognise previous results, but I want to tell you the previous wins give us motivation, but we have to look for the appropriate way to win the game.”