In the second round of the East Asian Cup, the Japanese national team shook hands with the Chinese men's soccer team in a 0-0 draw. The result, which left the originally highly favored Japanese team unable to get what they wanted, caused an uproar of criticism in the country.
JFF President Yukizo Tajima was blunt after the game: the players need to realize the importance of this game, which is related to the selection of players for the World Cup. We brought ourselves a big challenge, especially in the second half with the physical decline, the standard of play fell sharply, failed to create scoring opportunities, but gave the Chinese team a chance to take advantage of. Considering the difference in strength between the two teams, this game should have been a sure win for Japan. After the match, the Japanese national team stood in the center circle with a heavy atmosphere and low morale. Manager Mori Baoichi confessed in an interview: We wanted to win the game, but we had to accept the reality. At the same time, the Japanese media expressed pain at the national team's concern for the decline rather than rise. On the day of the match, there were only 10,526 spectators at the venue, which can hold up to 40,000 people. Meanwhile, the stark contrast was saddened by the fact that the Paris team, which trains in Japan to play warm-up matches, had 17,916 people paying to watch at its training ground in Osaka.
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