AFC
Doha: Go Oiwa will take a singular focus into his team’s opening AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ Group B clash with China PR at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday as he looks to lead Japan to an eighth consecutive Olympic Games qualification.
The Japanese have appeared at every Olympics since 1996 and won the AFC U23 Asian Cup the last time it was played in Qatar in 2016, but the former Kashima Antlers head coach is refusing to look beyond his team’s opening game at this year’s competition.
“We have prepared for the first match against China, their mentality and their individual tactics,” said the former central defender, who took Kashima to the AFC Champions League™ title in 2018. “We would like to approach the first match as a team.
“We have called up many good players and our preparations have been good. Now we are concentrating only on the opening game against China, that’s all.”
Japan and China PR have also been drawn alongside Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates in a challenging group, with all four nations having previously appeared at the Olympic Games.
Only the top two finishers will advance to the quarter-finals, where the battle for one of the three guaranteed berths at the Paris Games will intensify further.
The Japanese have been unable to call up a number of key Europe-based players due to club commitments, although Oiwa is unperturbed by the absences.
“Our preparations have been good,” he said, “and we’d like to approach tomorrow’s match as a team.”
China PR, meanwhile, are attempting to win the AFC U23 Asian Cup for the first time and have not appeared at the Olympic Games since the event was hosted in Beijing in 2008.
Head coach Cheng Yaodong is confident his side can make an impression despite being handed a difficult draw.
“We know Qatar hosted the World Cup and Asian Cup and being here brings hope and joy for the young players,” Cheng said. “We think our team is really strong."
“Japan and Korea Republic have qualified for the Olympics quite often, so this is a good opportunity for us to play in high quality games. We prepared for a long time and I’d like to thank the clubs for their support. Me and the players will try our best in this tournament.
“We think the Japanese are a strong team, a good team. They have good skills and technique but hopefully we can achieve a good result tomorrow.”
Japan v China PR
Venue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Doha)
Kick-off: Tuesday, 16:00 (UTC+3)