Having already been incredibly successful in winning the 2024 AFC U-23 Championship, Japan is now even more formidable.

Japan secured their place in the knockout round ahead of Argentina, the top contender for the gold medal in men's football, and even ahead of host nation France. The team from the Land of the Rising Sun advanced to the quarterfinals after two consecutive wins, and along with defending runners-up Spain, they were the only teams to qualify after just two matches.

Japan's defeated opponents in previous matches were Paraguay and Mali. Japan scored a total of 6 goals in the two matches against these opponents, without conceding a single goal. Essentially, the Japanese Olympic team retained the core squad that helped them win the U.23 Asian Championship in May.

The Japanese U.23 players celebrate their victory against Mali U.23.

However, because each team in the men's football event at the 2024 Paris Olympics can only register 18 players, compared to 23 players at the U-23 Asian Championship in May, the Japanese Olympic team had to drop several players compared to when they won the Asian Championship more than two months ago. Those excluded from the Japanese men's football Olympic campaign include one goalkeeper, right-back Takasi Uchino, midfielders Fuki Yamada and Kuryu Matsuki, and forward Kotaro Uchino.

Those retained, with the exception of goalkeepers Leo Kokubo and Taishi Nozawa (whose primary role is goalkeeping), must be both technically skilled and highly versatile. For example, right-back Hiroki Sekine can play as a center-back when needed, midfielders Ryotaro Araki and Koki Saito can play as forwards if required. Conversely, forward Yu Hirakawa can drop back to play in midfield. And Kein Sato can play as a central striker or drift to the left wing as a forward…

Japan U.23 has already secured a place in the next round.

Japan's U.23 team possesses many high-quality young players.

With more experience and a more physical style of play, while still maintaining their technical skills, the Japanese U23 team was so confident that they didn't field any players over 23 years old (Olympic football regulations allow each team to register three players over 23). This detail shows that Japan is playing more "extravagantly" than even the strong contenders for the championship, including Argentina, Spain, and France. It also reflects the progress the current Japanese team has made compared to their performance at the U23 Asian Championship more than two months ago, in terms of experience.

Japanese players remain the same—still very skillful, fast, and fluid in their passing, but sometimes they are too serious, lacking in finesse in play, which can be detrimental. At the recent Olympics, some Japanese players seem to have overcome this. The defenders of the Land of the Rising Sun are willing to foul opponents when necessary, as long as the foul is far from their own penalty area and doesn't result in too many yellow cards for the Japanese player.

Japan's U23 team lifted the U23 Asian Cup trophy last May in Qatar.

Head coach of the Japan U.23 team - Mr. Go Oiwa

This will indirectly help the Japanese U23 team slow down their counter-attacks and reduce the opponent's enthusiasm. Furthermore, at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship, Japan was quite weak in defending against aerial balls. They were troubled by Qatar in the quarter-finals, Iraq in the semi-finals, and Uzbekistan in the final of the Asian Championship, all of whom launched high balls into their penalty area. While the Japanese defense is physically strong – with right-back Hiroki Sekine at 1.87m, center-back Kota Takai at 1.92m, and center-back Seiji Kimura at 1.86m – they pay little attention to aerial duels, due to their habit of playing short passes and group coordination.

Japanese football fans have high expectations for this Olympic campaign.

However, it seems that at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Japanese Olympic team practiced defending against aerial balls extensively, which is why they haven't conceded in such situations in France. It's also possible that Japan hasn't yet faced European teams strong in aerial duels, so they haven't conceded goals in such situations. Nevertheless, a more experienced, pragmatic, and physically strong Japanese team is still a more complete team than before. To date, Japan remains the Asian representative with the highest expectations in this year's Olympic men's football event.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/olympic-da-qua-khung-khi-vo-dich-u23-chau-a-2024-nhat-ban-gio-cang-dang-so-185240728132949794.htm