Recently, in an interview with the Japanese press, coach Troussier assessed that the current squad in Mr. Hajime Moriyasu's hands has a balance between experience and professional quality.
I think this is a team with good balance in maturity and experience. Most players are playing abroad and the foundation of a team aiming for the world's top has been formed," Mr. Troussier commented.
Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino's inability to participate due to injury is a significant loss. However, the former coach who led the Japanese national team to the 1/8 round of the 2002 World Cup believes that the current team no longer depends on a few stars.
Among the factors in the attack, Mr. Troussier especially praised Takefusa Kubo. According to him, the Real Sociedad player can completely become a prominent face of Japan in this year's tournament.
Kubo is a player who has the ability to make a difference in attack. He has improved a lot in the past four years and this could be Kubo's World Cup," the French coach commented.
Commenting on Group F including the Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and Sweden, coach Troussier said that this is an open group when every team has a chance to advance.
He predicts that the opening match between Japan and the Netherlands will take place with a cautious formation because both sides do not want to lose in the opening match, so a draw is a reasonable scenario.
In addition, Mr. Troussier assessed that Japan is slightly better than Tunisia and Sweden thanks to their ability to organize their playing style, ball rotation speed and good technical foundation.
When asked about the goal of the "Green Samurai", the French strategist said: "I believe Japan can at least surpass the best record before and advance to the quarter-finals. They are capable of competing fairly with the world's top teams".
